


These Days ⊰

by orphan_account



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Arguing, Background Stan Marsh/Wendy Testaburger, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Gay Kyle Broflovski, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mutual Pining, My First AO3 Post, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sex in a Car, Sleepovers, both of them are just really bad at understanding each other oops, boys being dudes, it gets better after the first chapter I stg, kenny is kinda depressed, no beta we die like men, theres a plot I swear, they probs fuck by the end of this, underrated ship, yeah they bicker a lot in this, yeah they do it in a car- kind of.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-08-13 15:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20176495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: ⠀⠀" Your way⠀⠀⠀⠀I'm trying to understand⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀These days⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I need to know if you're feeling it⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Or I'm wasting my time⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Your way,⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀or mine "✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈Kenny and Kyle try to retrieve Karen after she's been taken into foster care.Anyone else would have been better for the job.(formerly Part-Time Insomniac)





	1. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW??: suicide is mentioned at the end but as a joke—

** _12:23._ **

  
In glowing red digits, Kyle’s alarm clock displayed the time. The howling wind, the almost-snow rain battering his window and cascading down the glass. A surprisingly serene night. He let out a sigh in his sleep, letting the faint patter of raindrops drown him in much-needed slumber. This would be the first good night’s rest he had gotten in weeks, with studying for finals and all.

_Plink_.

How many hours of sleep did an eighteen-year-old boy need?

_Plink, plink._

Eight hours? Nine?

_Plink!_

Kyle knitted his eyebrows and turned over in his bed with a grunt, drawing the thick covers over him in a tight wrap. Like a newborn swaddled up in the nursery, peacefully sleeping in a cot. Soft, shallow breaths. Deeply surrounded by warmth. Calm...

_Plink! Plink, plink!_

“Jesus-_fucking_-Christ,” he groaned through gritted white teeth, falling on his back and painfully opening his nearly-sealed eyes. He stared at his splotchy ceiling. Silent. Begrudgingly staying awake. Laying in wait for the next—

_Plink_. This time, he flinched.

Tearing off his blanket, Kyle threw himself up out of bed and swiped an arm over his eyes to clear the sleep from them. He scanned the room. _Where the fuck is that coming from?_

He waited for the next one, and caught something in his peripheral vision. Green eyes suspiciously darted to the window, dotted with clear specks of water. He watched as a small pebble bounced off the glass with a sound. _The_ sound.

He looked out his window. Definitely not hail or anything of the sort. His gaze dropped to his front lawn, where he saw a blur of bright orange and a panicked face staring back up at him.

Kyle flung open his window, letting in the frigid air and precipitation. His bed-head peered out, and he stared at the figure on his lawn with squinting eyes, bewildered.

“Kenny?”

Kenny dropped the rocks in his hand and jumped up, arms frantically waving. “Kyle!” He shouted, muffled by his coat and the moaning wind.

Kyle rubbed his eyes, vision clouded by the water droplets that fell on his eyelashes. “The hell are you doing?! Do you even know what time it is?”

He couldn’t hear what Kenny screamed out next. He only saw the desperation in his eyes, begging to be let in. With a groan, Kyle shut the window and found himself silently dashing down the stairs, nearly tripling over himself, and unlocking the front door. Kenny came hurtling in, collapsing into Kyle’s arms. Dripping parka, drenched strands of dirty golden hair peeking out from his hood. It was debatable whether the moisture on his face was sweat or rain. Or tears.

“Kenny?” Repeated Kyle, stunned and glued to the floor. “What the hell happened?”

Kenny keeled over, gripping onto Kyle’s arms and shaking like a leaf in the breeze.

“Kyle,” he wheezed, coughing into his hood, before uncovering his head and revealing his sweat-saturated hair.

“Spit it out man!” Kyle stood him upright and shook his shoulders.

Kenny’s eyes, frenzied and diluted, flickered around the room for a moment, before settling on Kyle.

“They arrested my parents again, a-and they put Karen in foster care.”

Kyle blinked. “What?” He hissed, swiftly shutting the front door and locking out the cold night. “Wait— let’s go to my room. My parents will freak if they find you here.”

Kenny’s hands trembled as Kyle ushered him upstairs and into his room. His boots squeaked on the hardwood floor in the hall, and he left a trail of puddles in his wake. A problem which Kyle pushed to the back of his mind. There were obviously more important matters that needed to be dealt with.

With the bedroom door shut and locked, Kyle helped Kenny shrug out of his coat, which they tossed on the floor. Kenny sat himself on the edge of Kyle’s bed, still quivering, as he tried fumbling with the laces of his boots.

“Here,” Kyle knelt down and put Kenny’s boot on his knee, beginning to untie the hastily fastened knot, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“Y-Yeah, okay, so like, we were all getting ready for bed, right?” Kenny spit the words out fervently, taking gulps of air between pauses, “And I’m in my room, and all of a sudden I hear the front door open, and I look out, and the first thing I see is my mom and dad and the cops—“

“Cool it, Ken,” Kyle slipped off his boots, rising and siting next to Kenny, who focused on the ground in front of him. He stared, lips moving, even when no words escaped him.

“Th-they came and arrested my parents, and I saw K-Karen run out, and they took her too, and I just—“ Kenny’s teeth gnashed together like cogs in a machine. He balled his still gloved hands into tight fists, knocking his head as he enunciated every word, “—_I left her_, like a fucking coward. I f-fucking jumped out the window and bailed, I just ran, and I...”

His voice wavered. He cracked like porcelain, a fragile doll. He threw his hands over his face and muffled his frustrated sobs. Kyle tried patting his back, but his hand eventually slid over, and he draped his arm over Kenny’s shoulders, awkwardly hugging him from the side. Anyone could see that emotional comfort was not his area of expertise.

“Ken,” he muttered, “Kenny... Uhm, it’ll be okay.”

His assuring words fell upon the other’s deaf ears. Kenny pulled his mitts away from his face for a moment, a festering groan of pain evading him. “No,” he choked out, “Karen can’t go back in the system again, she can’t...”

“Karen’s a big kid, Ken—“

“She’s still the same little girl, Kyle,” Kenny turned to face his friend, and only then did Kyle see the despair rooted in his gaze. A mixture of rage, and pain, and grief racked him, visible in his tearful blue eyes. Bright sapphires, now a dull ocean of fear. Kyle had never seen anything like it, and surely not in his friend. Never.

Kenny firmly clutched Kyle’s arms, thumbs digging into flesh. “They’ll tear her apart. And, I’m not there to protect her this time...”

Before Kyle could react, he was pulling Kenny in, embracing his malnourished frame and laying a hand on his sweat-covered back. He let Kenny hold him tight like a pillow. Choked, suppressed sobs. Tears stained Kyle’s nightshirt.

Drowning out Kenny’s bewailing, Kyle crawled through his thoughts. _This is... insane. I’ve never heard Kenny cry like this, _he realized_. This is deep shit._

Kenny pulled away after a few moments of pathetic sniveling and Kyle felt the cold replace the area where his body heat was. The blonde wiped his running nose with a sniffle. “Ugh, sorry Kyle,” he uttered a weak chuckle, “Guess I ruined your night...”

Kyle shook his head and cuffed a hand over Kenny’s shoulder. “It’s all good, dude,” he reassured, finding the strength to make him a promise, “We’ll figure this out. We’ll find Karen and get her out, okay? I swear to God.”

Kenny lifted his head an inch. “We’ll get her out?” He repeated.

Kyle nodded, an encouraging smile on his face. He didn’t quite understand the weight of his words, but he would say anything to get Kenny out of the state he was in.

“Yeah, dude. Together.”

Kenny cracked a smile, revealing his imperfect teeth. “Thanks, Kyle.”

At that moment, Kyle saw a flicker in Kenny’s eyes. The usual Kenny, the bright blue sapphires...

Kyle gave Kenny’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, before standing up and raising his arms in a stretch. A few bones of his cracked, and a yawn flew from his mouth. “Well, I guess I won’t be going back to bed anymore,” he laughed, scratching his head. “Uh, so, are you going to...”

Kyle trailed off. Kenny blinked.

“... Stay here?” Kyle finished with a questioning inflection.

Kenny shrugged. “CPS are probably going to be looking for me, and you were the first person I though of going to...” He recalled, shuffling his feet on the floor, “d’you think you could hide me here until the coast is clear?”

Hiding a grown boy in the confines of his room, completely unbeknownst to his family, for God knows how long? Of course not. It was entirely too risky for the both of them, and surely there were better places than Kyle’s shoe box of a room to hide a body. They couldn’t keep this a secret for long. His mom would beat his ass once she found out. Kenny would get handed over. Lose-lose. No, there had to be another way. He couldn’t.

“Sure.”

Kenny grinned. “Awesome.”

***

  
Kyle watched as the plastic cup in his hand slowly filled to the brim with water from the kitchen sink. As the cup filled, so did his mind.

_This is so bad. You just promised to hide Kenny out in your room. You promised to  
kidnap his sister! This is never going to work. Why would you say that to him?_

Of course, Kyle knew why. Heat of the moment was what he used to justify his actions, which was partially correct.

He focused on the cup as he trod back up the stairs, making sure not to slip on the puddles Kenny had left minutes before. He hurried down the hallway to his room, watching the cup, the water wobbling, dribbling down the side from the shaking of his hand. He reached for his doorknob, thankful for not having spilled or slipped, and—

_“Going somewhere?”_

Kyle looked up. His brother, arms crossed, standing before him, the bedroom door wedged between them. _So close._

“Ike, Ike!” Kyle froze. His body turned rigid like a board. “Jesus, you scared me. I was just... taking this water back to my room,” he explained, his lips quirking into a sorry excuse for a convincing smile.

Ike huffed. “That’s a lot of water.”

“I’m... really thirsty.”

“Uh-huh...” His little brother narrowed his eyes. “Was that you crying earlier?”

_Aw shit, _Kyle bit his tongue,_ Of course he heard. Damn crybaby..._

“Oh, yep.” Awkward, forced laugh. “That was me. Just been sad, recently.”

“Cut the shit, big brother,” Ike hissed, catching Kyle right in his poorly fabricated lie, “What’s Kenny McCormick doing in our house at one in the morning?”

Kyle readjusted his grip on the cup as his skin grew clammy. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me Kyle, I heard all his gross crying and shit.”

Kyle hesitated. Ike knew, and Ike wanted something, or else he wouldn’t bother confronting Kyle before telling their parents.

“Okay, fine,” Kyle grunted, his muscles relaxing, “He has to stay with me for a while. It’s a long story...”

“Yeah, I heard all of it.”

“Just—“ Kyle brought his fingers together, pressing them against the bridge of his nose, “— you can’t tell anyone. Not mom or dad, no one. Can you keep this a secret?”

Ike cocked his head, leaning forward to inspect Kyle’s disgruntled expression. “I could...”

Kyle rolled his eyes, much to Ike’s gleaming satisfaction. “_Fuck_. How much do you want?”

“A hundred.”

“You’re joking. I don’t have a hundred dollars.”

“Okay, seventy.”

“Thirty.”

“Sixty.”

“Ike,” Kyle snapped, “If I don’t hide Kenny here, they’re going to keep Karen in foster care, and then she’ll be miserable and depressed her whole life and probably kill herself, and whose fault will that be? Huh, Ike? Whose fault?”

Ike frowned. His eyes settled on the floor.

“I’ll give you fifty, but that’s it.”

His brother stared, contemplative, before heaving a sigh and unfolding his arms. “Fine. Fifty bucks by tomorrow. And don’t ask me to do you any favors.”

They shook on it. Ike receded back into his bedroom and locked his door, as did Kyle. Kenny was stretched out on his bed like a cat, wrists touching the headboard. He was so tall, his feet dangled off the edge of the bed. Kyle set the full cup on the nightstand, and watched as Kenny’s diaphragm slowly rose and fell.

“So I got your water for nothing,” he said to the sleeping boy. No response, obviously. Just an unconscious murmur.

_Great_. He struggled to push Kenny to the other side of his bed. It was large enough for two people (his parents had upgraded him to full-size once he outgrew his old one), even someone of Kenny’s height. Once he had shifted the corpse to the left side of the bed, Kyle shuffled into bed beside him. He wasn’t about to sleep on the floor in his own bedroom. _That would be weird._

The mattress was now warm, filled with the heat that radiated from Kenny’s body. Cozy, Kyle thought, odd as it would seem. He resumed where he was at the beginning of the night, swaddled in the covers, this time accompanied by an extra body in his bed.

He pushed the concerns and questions that nagged at him away. His mind was too drained, deprived of sleep. No energy to worry about what he would do tomorrow. No energy to even think about Kenny, who snored beside him.

For the first time in weeks, Kyle slept, unbothered, untroubled.

  
Comfortably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it gets better after the first chapter uwu  
this ship is hella underrated so I had to show it some love. plus this plot idea struck me and I just had to write it
> 
> I update frequently! for the most part!
> 
> hope u enjoyed anyways <3
> 
> \- james


	2. Hideout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the change in spacing whoops

“Ike... _Ike_!”

“What?!”

“Where are the Frosty O’s?”

“The _what_?!”

“_Frosty O’s_!”

Kyle threw his head back and let out a frustrated huff of air, blowing his fluffy hair out of his face. _Little bastard._

_Whatever_. He probably wouldn’t be able to carry another box in his arms anyways. He already held two cans of soda, five bags of hot chips, and another family-sized box of sugary cereal, all of which teetered in his arms, threatening to topple with the slightest push. He shut the refrigerator door with his foot on his way out of the kitchen, craning his neck to see around the mountain of snacks.

He almost maneuvered his way to the stairs when he heard his mother’s concerned voice from the other side of the stack. 

“Kyle?” She asked, gesturing to the bundle in his arms. “What’s all this?”

Kyle peeked over his supply. His excuse was already prepared, good enough to fool his parents, should he run into them. “Just some stuff,” He semi-shouted. “Been studying pretty hard, worked up an appetite.”

His mother raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you haven’t come out of your room since last night?”

“Yeah, that’s why. Working my ass off up there, haha...” Kyle shuffled out of her way, squeezing past her and backing up the stairs. He checked his footing. “Gotta get back to studying, Mom. Can’t waste anymore study time.”

“Oh, alright pumpkin. You tell me if you need anything now.“

“Uh-huh, sure thing,” Kyle raced up the stairs, masterfully balancing his snacks. “Thanksmombyeloveyou—“

Kyle distanced himself to where he was out of earshot of his mother, then quietly knocked on his bedroom door with his foot. One knock, then two, pause, then three and four. Kyle heard shuffling behind the barrier, before a quiet, “_Kyle_?”

“Yeah, open the door before I drop all this shit.”

Kenny unlocked the door and Kyle quickly slipped inside, turning and shutting the door with his back. He slid down its side, before slumping on the floor and releasing his cargo. Kenny crouched down on the floor with him, spreading out the goods.

“_Sick_!” he beamed, snatching a bag of hot chips and popping it open, releasing the spicy aroma into the air. “I love these!”

Kenny shoved a fistful of chips into his mouth and Kyle gagged, the pungent flavor circulating around them. “Fucking gross, man. Those taste like hot ass. I don’t know how you and Ike can stomach that shit.”

“It’s an _acquired_ taste,” Kenny said in a comically posh accent, smacking his lips and licking the dust off his fingertips.

Kyle dismissed Kenny, crunching away, and reached for a can of soda. “Look, Ken,” He started, opening the can with a satisfying cracking noise. “I’m getting kinda worried.”

“Dude, I love that sound,” Kenny said through a mouthful of red-hot chips. “That’s totally an ear-orgasm right there. The _pop_ and the _pshsssss_...”

“We need to talk about what the hell we’re going to do.”

“Ear-orgasm? Eargasm?”

“I can’t hide you here for long. My mom is gonna start asking questions. I can only use the study excuse for so long.”

“I think it’s eargasm. Oh, hey, let me get a sip of that—“

Kenny reached for Kyle’s soda can. Kyle withdrew his hand. “Kenny!” He reprimanded.

“What? It’s just a sip, dude.”

“No, not the stupid soda.” Kyle set the can on the floor and glowered at his friend. “I can’t hide you here for much longer.”

“Huh?” Kenny seized the can and took a long drink. “Why not? I like it here. You got good snacks.”

Kyle stole back the soda can. “Dude, I’m being serious. We need to make sure my parents aren’t suspecting anything, so they won’t ask questions. And that was more than a sip.”

“Sip, drink, same thing. Your parents won’t do shit, Kyle.” Kenny stuffed his face with more chips. “Are you sure you’re not just being  paranoid?”

“I’m not! Just listen to me,” Kyle snatched Kenny’s bag from his grasp, putting an end to his obnoxious crunching. “We need to get you out of the house.”

“The fuck? Why?” Kenny said, particularly irritated now that he was deprived of his spicy fix. “Anywhere we go, we risk me being noticed. News spreads like wildfire in this town, I’m sure everyone already knows that my parents are in jail and I’m missing.”

_Knock knock._

“Kyle, sweetie?” Called the strong voice of his mother on the other side of the door. “Open the door, I need to have a little chat with you.”

“_Speak of the devil,_” Kenny whispered.

Kyle’s eyes shot open with alarm, and he silently motioned for Kenny to move out of sight from the door. The other boy begrudgingly shifted to the far wall, crossing his arms in the corner like a child in time-out. Kyle jumped up and kicked their snacks and evidence away, opening the door just enough to where he could stick his head out. His mom waited outside, clutching her phone.

“Oh, Kyle. I just heard what happened to your little friend, the poor one, always wearing that awfully bright jacket—“ She said, scrolling through her phone like she was reading a text or an article.

“_Kenny_, mom,” Kyle corrected in a deadpan tone. “His name is Kenny.”

“Yes, the McCormick kid. I just saw that everyone’s supposed to keep their eye out for him. His poor parents got sent back to jail, isn’t that sad?”

Sigh. “Yes, mom. Very sad.”

“Yeah, well, they haven’t found your friend, so if you hear anything regarding him, you oughta’ tell me, okay hon?” She looked up and tossed her son a concerned smile.

“Yep. Will do, mom. Thanks.” Kyle blurted out, before shutting his door. He waited for his mother to leave, after she muttered something about her sons ‘growing up to be so damn rude,’ and locked the door.

“People really know me as the poor kid? The McCormick kid?” Kenny asked, and Kyle was reminded of his presence. He remained standing in the corner, holding himself. “The kid with the stupid jacket?”

“Well, yeah. Kinda.” Kyle dropped to the floor and picked up the soda can, which had been overturned, but luckily hadn’t spilled. “That’s kinda your reputation.”

There was a moment of silence, where the only sound was the reassembling of the pile of snacks by Kyle, but Kenny was quick to shrug it off and rejoin Kyle again.

“Alright, whatevs. Guess that sorta is what I’m known for...” He grumbled, swiping back his half-empty bag of chips and backing up against the bed. He ate, surprisingly quiet, while Kyle set the other goods to the side and tossed the aluminum can away.

Kyle realized that Kenny was obviously hurt, at least a little. It was something he never really noticed before. Did Kenny really not like being known as the poor kid?

“I-I mean, I don’t think you’re the poor kid, or whatever,” Kyle stammered. “You’re just Kenny to me.”

“Yep.” Kenny nodded.

More wordless moments, interrupted by mindless crunching.

Kyle scooted in front of Kenny and resumed where they left off. “Uhm, anyways. Like I said, we need to get you out of the house, to a secure location. From there, we can figure out how to find Karen.”

“Yeah, but where could we go where nobody will recognize us and turn me in?” Kenny asked, finishing the bag and crumpling it. He aimed the ball of trash for the trash bin, where it dinged off the side. Kenny cursed under his breath, while Kyle recalled the perfect place to hideout. The hideout, obviously. 

“I think I know where we can go,” Kyle smiled, standing up and reaching for his wallet on his nightstand. He made for the door, opening it and getting a leg out before Kenny stopped him.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Oh,” Kyle cast a quick glance back. “I gotta go give Ike fifty dollars.”

—

_ **stupid fucks: two members active now** _

**Cartman, respond right now**

** _fatass: tf do u need I’m kinda busy rn_ **

**Whatever it is, this is more important.**

** _best friend stan: What’s up Kyle??? Did u hear about Kenny???_ **

** _fatass: ngl im pretty sure season 2 of america’s most retarded home videos is more important than whatever bull crap you have going on_ **

**Cartman, this is serious. It’s for Kenny**

** _best friend stan: Oh shit for real??_ **

** _fatass: nice try asswipe, kennys been missing for like 10 hours so that kinda means he’s dead by now_ **

** **

** [image attachment] **

** **

**Then why the fuck is he in my room right now?**

** **

** _best friend stan: Kenny???????_ **

** **

** _fatass: woah dude. kenny totally ran away from home so you two could have your little gay love affair? That’s deep_ **

** **

**LISTEN FATASS, WE NEED YOUR BASEMENT. WE’RE COMING OVER AND YOU’RE GOING TO LET US HIDEOUT THERE UNTIL WE GET MY SISTER BACK, AND YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS. IF YOU SAY ANYTHING I WILL RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE SO YOU’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT JUNK FOOD AGAIN — kenny xoxo**

** **

** _best friend stan: What the fuck is going on??????_ **

** **

** _fatass: why does it have to be my basement??? Can’t you guys hide somewhere else?_ **

** **

**Too risky, someone could see us. Plus your mom wouldn’t even notice we were hiding Kenny in your basement.**

** **

** _best friend stan: Yeah, your mom is kind of an airhead dude_ **

** **

** _fatass: shut up. kyles mom is fat_ **

** **

** _best friend stan: that’s rich coming from you_ **

** **

**Cartman, are you going to let us use your basement or not??**

** **

** _fatass: fucking fine whatever you guys will probably just barge in anyways and make me let you use it if I don’t say yes_ **

** **

**Yeah we totally would**

** **

** _best friend stan: Can I come?_ **

** **

**Sure**

** **

** _fatass: so we’re all having a cute little sleepover in my basement now??? oh ok great why don’t we just invite tweek and craig since this is obviously a huge gay fest_ **

** **

**We’ll be over at 3. Leave ur back door unlocked**

** **

** _fatass: so u guys are just gonna break into my house_ **

** **

** _fatass: no no it’s fine it’s totally cool_ **

** **

** _fatass: dont worry about me guys it’s totally fine_ **

** **

** _fatass: ok fuck u guys too_ **

** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR SOME ACTUAL SHIP MATERIAL WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! sorry I just actually like the plot :((
> 
> this chapter was fun to write uwu, especially the texts skksksks
> 
> hopefully I’ll continue to update frequently once school starts. this is my top priority because I have other fics in the works uwu
> 
> hope u enjoyed! <3
> 
> \- james


	3. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some good fucking content

The rain from last night had turned into snow. The lawns of the residents of South Park were covered in a sheet of white powder, unfortunately, not the kind some would have hoped for. Kyle dawned his typical lime green ushanka and a new sweater he had taken a liking to: a letterman jacket adorned with the Colorado State University logo on the back. It was also green, which complimented his hat nicely. He slipped into some comfortable pants, assuming they’d have to do some walking around looking for a child, and likewise, pulled on his snow boots.

He was almost finished packing his backpack when he noticed that Kenny wasn’t doing much, just zipping up his parka and idly sitting on the bed.

“You, uh... ready to go?”

“Whenever you are.” Kenny wore a crooked smile.

Kyle felt bad. He was suited up, ready for the unprecedented weather, and all Kenny had was his trusty jacket and a pair of terribly worn down boots. He couldn’t offer him a pair of snow boots, seeing as he was wearing the only pair he owned, and however selfish it sounded, wouldn’t give them up in exchange for trekking the frozen streets of South Park in unprotected sneakers. And then, another problem presented itself to Kyle.

“Hey, Ken?” He called out to nab the other’s attention. Kenny looked up from his current focus of zipping, unzipping, zipping, and unzipping his jacket.

“Your jacket...”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing! It’s just... really bright. Like, highlighter bright, dude. A legally blind grandma could spot you from a mile away.”

Kenny examined himself, as to verify he was still wearing the garment. “Oh damn, you’re right. I’ll get recognized in an instant.”

“Here—“ Kyle rummaged through his closet, pushing back shirts, junk, unmentionable things, before retrieving what he had sought. He held it up for Kenny to see. “Put this on.”

“Dude. I am_ not_ wearing that.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It says ‘_Jew Scouts Leader_’ on it.” Kenny gestured to the insignia on the back of the sweater.

“So?”

“I’m not fucking Jewish!”

“All the more reason to wear it! It’ll be the perfect disguise.” Kyle eagerly held the sweater out in front of him, dangling it like a prize. “Besides, it’s warmest hoodie I have, and you can’t wear that traffic cone outside.”

They briefly engaged in a stare down, before Kenny groaned and shimmied out of his parka, snatching the Jew Scouts hoodie from Kyle’s hands and throwing it on. It was already an oversized sweater, but it was huge on him, billowing over his thin figure, which was, indeed, the perfect disguise. Kenny pulled the floppy hood over his face, and boom. Unrecognizable.

“Genius, Kyle, absolutely genius.” Kyle appraised, clasping his hands together. “It’s not much, but it’ll do. Ready to get this show on the road?”

Kenny raised his arms and the hoodie followed, almost creating wings with the excess fabric. “Uh, yeah, definitely. So, how am I gonna sneak out if you have to tell your mom you’re spending the night at Cartman’s?”

Kyle pulled on his heavy bag and teetered his way to the door. “Well... I was thinking you could just... jump out the window?”

“Are you crazy? I could break a bone. Or _several_ bones.”

“The snow will catch you. It’s like, a foot thick out there. It’ll be like landing on a cloud...” Kyle assured, already halfway out the door. “Wait for me to give you the signal outside, then just jump, okay?”

Kenny pulled the drawstrings on his hoodie. “Fuck.”

“That’s the spirit.” Kyle shut the door behind him and tip-toed down the stairs. His mom was in the kitchen, examining a sheet of paper at the table while rapidly clicking her pen. Ike was there, too, making a cup of instant noodles.

“Since when do teachers give homework over the weekends? Is that even legal?” His mother complained. Ike must have coerced her into helping him with his homework, where he was helping her more often than not.

“It’s legal, Mommy.” Ike popped his instant noodles in the microwave, expectantly tapping his foot. “Can you just help me with my geometry homework or not?”

“Hi, Mom.” Kyle butted in, approaching the opposite side of the table from where his mom was sat. She acknowledged him with a quick glance, but returned to the homework just as fast. 

Kyle drummed his fingers on the table. “Me and Stan are gonna go spend the night at Eric’s house, to... study. We’re having, like, a study sleepover.”

“Aren’t you a little _old_ for sleepovers?” Ike remarked. Kyle shot him a glare, but it hit the back of his neck as he simply stared at the numbers on the microwave timer.

Kyle’s mother disregarded her youngest son’s comment, putting her hand on her forehead with a tired sigh. “Yeah, sure thing honey, you just be careful and make sure you get to school on time tomorrow. You sure you’ve got what you need?”

“Yep, got it all,” Kyle nodded and made a beeline for the front door now that he was given the OK. “Byemomloveyousomuch,” He spat out, before offering a stressed, “Bye Ike.”

Ike discreetly flipped him off and he shut the door. Luckily, the snow was still thick enough to possibly break Kenny’s fall. He backed up, running in front of the lawn where he could see Kenny’s silhouette in the frost-covered window. He waved, then flashed a thumbs-up. After a beat, the window slid open and Kenny appeared, clad in the blue  Jew Scouts hoodie. His face looked distressed, and he shook his head and made an X symbol with his arms. No way, he silently said.

Kyle rebutted with eager nods, gesturing for him to jump. Kenny mouthed out, ‘No. Fucking. Way,’ and Kyle mouthed out, ‘Do it, pussy.’ After a while of silently arguing, Kyle gave up, or so it seemed. He shoved his hands in his sweater pocket and shrugged, wordlessly stalking off down the sidewalk. He had only walked away for a moment before he heard a _fwump_. He turned around and saw his window, still open, no Kenny. A pause, then Kenny’s head popped up from out of the snow. Anticlimactic, like something ripped straight from a Sunday comic. Kyle covered his mouth as he cackled, doubling over and supporting himself on his knees. He heard Kenny approach, stomping right up to Kyle and shoving him down on his ass.

“Thanks, dickwad,” He sneered. Kenny towered over Kyle, who carelessly laughed himself to tears and struggled to stand back up. He eventually faced Kenny’s unamused expression, finding it incredibly difficult not to keel over and do it all again.

“I’m sorry, dude. Seriously. But there was no other way. And you’ve been through worse,” He apologized with a grin that made it hard to take him seriously. He brushed off sprinklings of snow that remained on Kenny’s shoulder, slapping his back in an effort to encourage their walk. “I would have done it for you in a heartbeat.”

“Gee, thanks Kyle. Now I’ll feel better if we’re ever in a pinch like that again,” Kenny sarcastically said, smacking Kyle over the head. The redhead allowed it, seeing as Kenny’s plummet into a layer of dense snow was worse. But he didn’t lie: he would have done it for Kenny too.

There were a lot of things he would do for Kenny, Kyle thought. Like agree to kidnap his little sister. That surely said something about how far Kyle was willing to go. They were lifelong friends, but he wasn’t too sure if Eric, or even Stan would agree to a plot like that on their own. Not like Kyle did, although, he didn’t have much of a choice either, with Kenny demanding to be let in, standing outside in the rain like an abandoned puppy.

Why did Kenny chose Kyle first? 

Probably because my house is the closest,  Kyle reasoned. It didn’t make sense to feel special over being the closest neighbor. Even if Stan and Eric’s houses were right next door and Kenny could have thrown rocks at any one of their windows and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Kyle wasn’t special. 

He drowned the notion as they shortly came upon Eric’s house. They both quickly realized they’d need to sneak in through the fence gate. Shying away from the windows, they approached the gate.

“Stupid bastard forgot to leave the gate unlocked. Whatever, just hop the fence and unlock it,” Kyle urged.

“Me?” Kenny looked appalled. “What if I trip or something and then get doubly hurt?”

“Geez, fine. Crybaby...” Kyle indignantly muttered. He was tall enough, he supposed, as he backed up to take a running start. He charged for the fence, reaching for the edge and pushing himself up and over. He climbed the fence, managed to sit on top, and jump back down on the opposite side.

Kenny was clapping as Kyle unlocked the gate. “_My hero_!” He fawned. Kyle wanted to laugh, but couldn’t find it in himself to. He hated how Kenny teased him sometimes. He hated how he couldn’t really enjoy some of his quips as of recently. They weren’t just dumb little jabs, or, at least, they didn’t feel like dumb little jabs anymore. They carried weight, to Kyle. Weight that rested on his shoulders, slowly building up and occasionally suppressing his usually engaged personality.

They silently slinked around the house and neared the back door. Kyle checked inside. Clear. He shot a quick text to the group chat as confirmation.

**We’re here. Is it safe to come down?**

_ _

_ **fatass: yea yea we’re already watching netflix down here. my mom had to run out for a few things** _

_ _

_ **best friend stan: Hurry up so you can decide which movie we’re gonna watch** _

_ _

_ **fatass: i already said we’re watching destination assassination** _

_ _

_ **best friend stan: That’s the gayest movie ever dude** _

_ _

_ **fatass: well then let’s wait for the gaylords to come down and decide since they’re experts on what’s gay and what’s not** _

Kyle rolled his eyes. He slid the glass door open and slowly creeped inside, Kenny on his tail. The interior of the house was eerily silent, so Kyle made a point of swiftly getting to the basement. Kenny shut the sliding glass door and followed Kyle down once they opened the basement door. Almost immediately, they heard the bickering of Stan and Eric, more or less coming from the latter.

“Look who decided to show up,” Eric sneered once he noticed the pair. Stan stopped clicking around on his laptop that he had brought and looked at the two of them. “Kenny!” He sounded surprised. “What happened? Tell us everything, what’s going on with Karen?”

Kenny huffed, pulling back his hood. Kyle could see in his clouded eyes that he was reluctant to relive the experience. He felt the urge to offer some sort of physical reassurance, but his hands only balled into fists in his pocket.

“It’s a long story,” Kyle stated.

“Speaking for your boyfriend? You know, that’s a major red flag and a sign of an abusive relationship,” Eric said matter-of-factly. The other three shared a collective groan.

“He can speak for me if he wants. I’m not in the mood to go over it again...” Kenny disregarded Eric and nonchalantly sat with him and Stan on the abundance of blankets and pillows they had brought down. He stretched, then flopped on his back and pulled his hood over his eyes.

Kyle sat in front of Stan, who regarded Kenny with concern. “So, what’s the deal?”

Kyle beckoned for Eric to listen in so he wouldn’t have to explain it twice. He debriefed, Kenny slept.

“So... we’re going to kidnap Karen?” Stan asked. Even Eric looked wary about this, which was surprising to say the least. He had gotten better about committing outright crimes over the years, which everyone was thankful for, but he was still him. Unfortunately.

“Basically, yes.” Kyle nodded. “We’ll have to kidnap her.”

“And then what? Once we get her out, what are we going to do with her?” Eric added. “I sure as hell ain’t keeping a little girl in my goddamn basement. As if the cops didn’t have enough to charge me with—“

“I don’t know!” Kyle snapped, throwing his hands up. “I don’t know what comes next, but the important thing is that we get her out and get her safe.”

Stan chewed the inside of his cheek. “Kyle...” He said in a hushed tone. “Are you sure about this? Have you ever considered that, maybe Karen is better off in a foster home?”

“Shut your mouth, Stan,” Kenny raised his voice. Everyone’s head swiveled to get eyes on him. He didn’t move, still lying in the same position, hood shadowing his face. “You don’t know her at all. You don’t know what’s best for her, not like I do.”

“I’m just saying, Ken.” Stan turned around, sitting cross-legged about a yard away from Kenny. “Where would we even take her? She’ll be the safest with her foster family, with people who will feed her and take care of her. I’m sure they’ll love her, Ken—“

“You don’t know  _anything_ about love, Stan. You don’t have a little sibling to take care of. You  _are_ the little sibling.” Kenny shot up like a corpse out of a casket in a horror movie. “They could never love Karen, they could never take care of her like me. I’m her brother for Christ’s sake. She deserves to be with her real family.”

“Well, the rest of her real family are either locked up or in rehab,” Stan remarked. “She’ll be better off without a constant reminder of where she came from, a bunch of crackhead assholes.”

_She’ll be better off without you. _ It went unsaid, but it was so blatantly obvious what Stan was eluding to. Kenny knew exactly what he meant, and Kyle saw something briefly snap within him. 

“_Oooooh_, you gonna let him say that, Kenny? You gonna take that shit?”

“Shut the fuck up, retard.” Kyle elbowed Eric’s arm.

“I’m the only one who ever truly cared for her.” Kenny growled. “She’ll be better off surrounded by love, real love, instead of that fake horse shit that her foster parents are paid to give her.”

Stan shook his head and snickered in disbelief, which only angered Kenny more. “You’re fucking delusional. You think you’re still this superhero who can sweep her away and save the day. This isn’t the fourth grade anymore, Kenny. There are no _fucking_ superheroes in South Park.”

That one struck a chord. Kenny’s enraged appearance gave way for a moment, a moment where he let Stan’s words sink in. He released the fists he had prepared to clock Stan with at any sudden movement.

Uncomfortable silence. The tension that hung around them was so thick, Kyle felt like he was suffocating. Drowning in nothing.

Stan disheveled the daunting atmosphere. “Plus, you’ve wrapped Kyle into this—“

Kenny bounced back. “Yeah, because Kyle is the only one who actually gives a fuck about me!” He shouted, gesturing to the aforementioned boy. “No wonder I came to  _him_ for help instead of you shitheads.”

Kyle’s eyes briefly met Kenny’s. So, he was right all along. Something fluttered in his stomach. Pride? Victorious pride, for having been proved right? Gratitude? Fear? Perhaps a combination. 

More silence. Before the air became dense once more, Kyle spoke up. “Look, we can at least hypothesize what we can do. Make a plan we all agree on?”

Kenny nodded. At least he was being agreeable and would settle for a compromise. Eric shrugged and Stan scoffed.

“Whatever,” He hissed, “Just not tonight. I’m in a pissed mood now...”

Kyle supposed that was enough.

“So...” Eric jutted in, unnecessarily. “No Destination Assassination?”

“ _No_ .”

***

“Dude, this movie blows, like Kyle’s mom.”

Eric and Stan laid on the floor amongst the blankets, watching a different movie on Stan’s laptop. They had already cycled through five other movies, each one shittier than the last. Eric ate them up, even the ones with painfully low budget CGI, and Kenny got a kick out of the poorly filmed sex scenes. He and Kyle sat on the floor, wedged between the legs of their friends, leaning against the raggedy old couch that Eric’s mom kept in the basement. Everyone seemed content, except Stan, who was obviously still bitter about the dispute he and Kenny had gotten into.

By the sixth movie, Eric had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly. Stan put a pillow over his face to stifle his mindless sleep-talking, and the trio continued to awkwardly watch the movie. Halfway through, though, Kyle felt a weight fall upon his shoulder. He was met with a head of unwashed blonde hair. Kenny leaned onto him after drifting off, and Kyle tensed. He was stuck in that position, cursed to remain still in fear of waking Kenny up.

Kyle didn’t mind too much, though. He caught a glimpse of Kenny’s face in the light of the laptop screen, the same relaxed look from the night before. He preserved the image in his mind, the image of what Kenny looked like when he wasn’t spewing remarks at Stan or mourning over his sister. When his face wasn’t red with anger or wet with tears. 

He seemed to be falling into a good dream. Although his neutral expression didn’t convey much, his lips occasionally quirked into a partial smile. He looked happy, almost, like his mind was finally put at ease.

_Cute_.

Kyle couldn’t suppress the smile that appeared on his face as Kenny’s comfortable warmth seeped into his body. He could almost see their shared body heat radiating off of them. He let his head rest against Kenny’s.

_This is probably the closest we’ve been_ _,_ Kyle pondered. He substituted the word _intimate_ for close, in fear that actually speculating that this was an intimate interaction would make it true. Which it wasn’t. This was coincidental.

Kenny’s hand shifted on top of Kyle’s.  _Entirely coincidental._ He felt his nerves jump, setting off a chain reaction from the place they touched. He was so glad the only light radiated from Stan’s laptop. Just dark enough to cover Kyle’s visibly burning face.

Just dark enough to enshroud Kenny’s delighted smirk as Kyle interlocked their fingers.

The redhead swallowed a loud yawn that threatened to escape. He was so enraptured by Kenny’s gestures that he almost forgot how exhausted he was. He longed for another carefree night, sleeping by Kenny’s side, hearing his faint, rhythmic breathing, the beat of his heart as Kyle’s eyes slowly fluttered shut...

“Kyle,” Hissed the darkness suddenly. “Kyle, wake up.”

Kyle regained his senses, flinching awake. He released Kenny’s hand at once and searched for the destination of the voice. To the left, he saw the faint outline of Stan.

A hand on his shoulder. “I need to talk to you. Outside.”

“W-What?” Kyle muttered, still partially confused.

“Come outside with me. I need a smoke.”

***

The air outside was frigid. The warmth that resided within Kyle was quickly stripped from him the moment he stepped foot in Eric’s backyard.

Stan took a long drag of his cigarette. “Kyle,” He began, the fog emitting from his lips a mix of smoke and frost. “This isn’t healthy, for you or Kenny. You’re allowing him to live out his unobtainable hero fantasy. You’re perpetuating the crazy notion that he can actually rescue his sister, who doesn’t even need rescuing.”

Kyle idly twiddled his fingers. “Since when were _you_ the smart one?”

Another drag. “Since the day your smart brain filled up with your boyfriend.” Stan blew the smoke right into Kyle’s face. Kyle choked out a “_what_?” 

“Kenny. I’m talking about Kenny.” Stan clarified, dropping his cigarette in the snow and pulverizing it into the ground with his shoe. “You’re head over heels for him.”

There was no point in lying, especially to Stan. There were only two people who could catch him in any lie; his brother, and his best friend. The gig was up. Better to confess than be humiliated later.

Kyle exhaled. “How’d you know?”

“I just picked up on it every now and then. Your mannerisms changed. The way you acted around him, mainly.” Stan stroked an imaginary beard, looking up as if he was deep in thought. “Plus, I totally saw you guys cuddling and holding hands right now. That basically confirmed my theory.”

“We weren’t— ugh, whatever.” Kyle ran a guilty hand under his hat, through his hair. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your dumb crush is totally blinding you from the truth. You just want to make him happy, so you agree with his stupid plans.”

Stan _did_ have a point. Kyle _did_ want to make Kenny happy, especially after seeing the type of person he was when he was anything but happy. He didn’t know how to respond. He was too prideful to admit Stan was right, but definitely couldn’t pull an argument out of his ass. Stan had perfected the art of arguing, that was for certain. Probably got it from his parents.

“Kyle, I’m just looking out for you. For the both of you.” Stan held Kyle’s forearm, emphasizing the empathy he had for his best friend in his eyes. “You guys are my friends. I don’t want you doing some dumb shit and ending up in jail or something.”

Kyle nodded. “I know, dude.”

Stan let go of his arm and receded back into his jacket. “I know you’re just trying to help Kenny, but you have to remember he’s not thinking clearly.”

“I know.”

“Just, maybe smack some sense into him? It would pay for him to think logically for once...”

Kyle chuckled, sliding open the back door once more. “You sound like me.”

“I’ve heard your speeches long enough to pick up on a few things.” Stan shrugged. “I learned from the master.”

The rest of the way back to the basement was silent. Eric was still splayed out in the center of the floor, pillow and all, and Kenny was curled against the couch. Stan and Kyle each took a few of the many blankets and crafted their own makeshift beds. While Stan snuggled up in his own, Kyle threw off his hat and silently added another thick blanket to his for more space, because Kenny’s current position didn’t seem too comfortable...

He gingerly shook Kenny’s shoulder. “Ken, Kenny, wake up for a sec.”

Kenny made a noise of discomfort, shrugging Kyle away at first, before realizing it was him and groggily opening his eyes, only to see next to nothing. Stan had turned off his laptop, so the basement was nearly pitch black, save for the dim beams of moonlight that came from the very small rectangular windows at the top of the widest wall. 

“Kyle?” He whispered.

“There’s more blankets over here,” Kyle replied, leading Kenny to the place he had amassed the blankets. They resembled sleeping bags, if sleeping bags were made of blankets and less comfortable.

Relying on touch alone, both of them covered up in the crude sleeping-bag-blankets. Kenny said nothing. Kyle assumed it was because of how tired he was, which was relatable. Kyle muffled his gaping yawn in his blanket one moment, and clocked out the next.

His rest was short lived, no surprise. Kyle awoke from his forgettable dream to blackness, and a cool draft caressing his face. The basement sure got chilly at night.

Why had he pulled himself from his sleep? He didn’t know, but something made him shudder just then. The cold? No. A different sensation. Something that pierced him. A stare. He was being watched.

Kyle reached out and touched Kenny’s shoulder, as if to confirm that he was, in fact, still there.

“_Kenny_?”

The air stilled.

A hushed reply. “_Yeah_?”

The slivers of moonlight were barely enough to illuminate Kenny’s face. Kyle’s eyes focused like a cat’s, and once he adjusted to the lighting, he could just make out Kenny’s sharp blue eyes, staring right through him. 

He should have been unsettled, at least a little.

Instead, he touched Kenny’s face to confirm again that this was him. They stared each other as the seconds passed by. Strangely enough, the silence didn’t perturb Kyle all that much this time around.

“Can’t sleep?” He finally asked.

Kenny shook his head. “Yeah. Don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

Kenny hesitated with every sentence, fishing for the words to say, reeling them in and assembling them together. “Don’t wanna make Stan upset, don’t wanna make plans.”

“Plans to get Karen back?”

Kenny nodded.

“But that’s what you said you wanted to do, right?” Kyle’s hand was still pressed against Kenny’s cheek. “You like, totally beefed with Stan over it.”

“I know. I’m just...” Kenny sighed. Kyle could tell it was a combination of grief and worry. “I’m scared that things won’t work out. That Stan was right. That I won’t be able to save Karen...”

Thoughts of Kenny, crying on his bed the night before. Stan’s words from earlier rung in Kyle’s ears.  _Smack some sense into him... I’m just looking out for you..._

“Don’t... Don’t listen to Stan.” Kyle absentmindedly brushed Kenny’s cheekbone with his thumb. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We _will_ save Karen, I promise.”

He _should_ have felt guilty for throwing his best friend under the bus.

“We will?” Kenny sounded optimistic and doubtful at the same time.

“I said we’d get her out together, didn’t I?”

Kyle could see and feel Kenny smile, from the way his cheeks rose. They gazed into each other, frozen in time. It felt like hitting pause on the TV remote. Darkness swallowed everything. Everything but them. Nothing else existed or mattered.

Kenny detached Kyle’s hand from his face by the wrist. Just as Kyle thought his awkward gesture of affection was being rejected, Kenny gingerly held the other’s hand in his own, almost cradling it.

_It was..._

Strange.

Kenny was never this soft. The mushiest Kyle had ever seen him was when he broke down on his bed the night prior. But that was different too, wasn’t it? That was pain, unbridled anguish, grief and anger. Nothing like this. Nothing like this. The way Kenny acted now was foreign, a completely different side of the tape.

Kyle liked it, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Kenny prodded.

“Nothing, just... this.” He responded, in reference to their situation. He squeezed Kenny’s hand. “Kinda fucking weird.”

He wanted to say sweet, but weird came to his mind first.

“No, _this_ is kinda fucking weird—“

And kinda fucking weird it was. Kenny’s lips, cracked and cut, on Kyle’s, cold and soft. Someone pressed the fast-forward button, so it went by in an instant. It was a kiss and then it wasn’t. It was a rush of electricity filling Kyle’s body, then immediately draining out from his feet. It was great, and then is was gone. And most predominantly, it was kinda fucking weird.

_Kinda fucking perfect._

Kyle wanted to ask if Kenny meant it, if it was intentional, or just a heat of the moment type thing. But the way he continued to hold Kyle’s hand put his mind at ease. They said nothing, but they were drawn to each other like magnets. They scooted closer to one another, shifting around until Kyle’s head was positioned against Kenny’s chest so he could hear his heart beat. Kenny’s chin rested on Kyle’s head and his fingers grazed the back of his neck.

Kenny yawned. “Goodnight.”

Kyle caught it. Contagious.

“Sleep tight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this from 8:00pm to 5:30am  
insomniacs writing stories about insomniacs
> 
> hopefully this chapter was enjoyable. I think it’s the longest one yet. I had fun writing it (when I wasn’t almost falling asleep) and ofc more plot and character development uwu. i promised ship moments and y’all have received
> 
> hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> \- james


	4. Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY SHORT BECAUSE IVE BEEN TERRIBLY BUSY WITH SCHOOL STARTING UP AGAIN
> 
> read the notes at the end for more pls

  
  
  
  
  
Kyle had roused a few times that night. He was usually a restless sleeper, so waking up in the night wasn’t uncommon for him, but it was happening much more frequently as of recently. One time in particular, he woke up, shivering. The draft in the basement had gotten worse since earlier and there was a significant lack of warmth by his side. He tilted his head up. Kenny had shifted over a foot or so, his back facing Kyle. The blankets were displaced like he had gotten up and haphazardly threw them back on.  
  
Kyle felt a prickling feeling in his stomach, but smothered it in rational thought. People move in their sleep. Hell, he could have been the one who had moved. He simply turned over on his side as well, huddling into the faux comfort of his many blankets and screwing his eyes shut.

It was hard to fall back asleep.

  
***

  
  
Kenny was asleep when Kyle, Stan, and Eric left for school, and he was asleep when they came back. Not in the same place, though, suggesting that he did wake up at some point while they were away. Probably to snoop around for food or go to the bathroom.  
  
“Where did you go?” Kyle asked Kenny after nudging him enough to the point where he couldn’t ignore it, “Like, to piss—“  
  
“Outside, duh.” Kenny took a bite from the chocolate-covered chewy bar he found after snooping around in Eric’s cabinets. “Anywhere else and Cartman’s mom would have totally heard.”  
  
On the other hand, maybe Stan was right about Kenny not thinking rationally.  
  
Kyle didn’t respond, letting the conversation die. He was irritated at how they neglected the elephant in the room. Kyle didn’t know if it was because of Stan and Eric’s presence that Kenny didn’t address it, or if he simply didn’t want to talk about it. And obviously _he_ couldn’t bring it up.  
  
_How could you not talk about it though?_ Kyle’s brain was racing from the moment he had awoken that morning. He was hardly able to concentrate on his finals, which required his undivided attention, especially since during the last days of his study time he was preoccupied with being an accessory to a kidnapping scheme.  
  
“Did you guys hear anything at school? Were people talking about me?” Kenny asked the room.  
  
“Not really,” Eric was sitting against the far wall, smashing the buttons on his video game controller and not looking up from the laptop screen he was playing on, “You’re kinda old news now. Everyone just thinks you’re dead for reals this time.”  
  
“Jimmy said you were drugged and forced to become a sex slave but you escaped on a bus to Wyoming,” Stan added, watching as Eric played his computer game vigorously.  
  
“What the fuck? That would never happen,” Kenny shook his head in disappointment. “I would _never_ go to Wyoming.”  
  
Besides the occasional attempt at conversation, the room was near silent, besides from the mashing of buttons. Eric was gaming, cursing under his breath, and Stan watched. Kyle pulled out his phone and mindlessly scrolled though his Instagram feed, aware of Kenny’s ever-present eyes watching his every move, like he was waiting for the right opportunity to say something.  
  
“So,” Kenny announced, clapping his hands once to get the other two’s attention. Kyle was startled. _What are you being so loud for? Are you going to tell them? If you tel_l Cartman, I’ll never hear the end of it. Oh my god, why now? If you think it’s the best idea, then I’ll go along with it too. But still, I—  
  
“Time to make a plan?”

  
  
Oh.

“_Seriously_? You’re still on that shit?” Stan pried his eyes away from the laptop and eyed Kenny apprehensively. “Didn’t Kyle talk some sense to you last night?”  
  
“Actually, yeah, Stan. He did.” Kenny responded. “I know exactly what I want, and you’re not going to make me second-guess myself anymore.”  
  
Stan rolled his eyes. “You don’t know Jack shit. You’re going to get us all thrown in jail...”  
  
He shot Kyle a frustrated look, but Kyle quickly disregarded it. “Let’s just try to brainstorm some ideas. Any ideas.” He suggested before things could escalate.  
  
“What ideas are there to even brainstorm? All we have to do is find Karen and sneak her out.” Kenny said, taking the wrapper from his chewy bar and tossing it behind him.  
  
“Yeah, but who would know where Karen’s foster home is now, besides her case worker? Do you wanna raid the police office too, Kenny?” Stan’s snarky response threatened to rekindle the spark inside Kenny. The blonde looked vexed, a volcano with magma bubbling up within it. A kettle getting hotter and hotter, whistling higher and higher.  
  
“Cut it out with the stupid shit, Stan. I’m serious.” Kenny gestured to Kyle beside him. “_We’re_ serious.”  
  
Another glare, confused and disappointed.  
  
_Stan’s really expecting me to just give up on him? _Kyle avoided eye contact with anyone. _Kenny isn’t about to let this go. I can’t let him get into trouble. Not by himself, at least._

  
Kyle was the accomplice.

  
  
“Let’s just focus on maybe getting a location? Then we can go from there.” Kyle interjected. “Karen gets picked on a lot... Maybe some girls at her new school would have posted some mean shit about her online? That’s something we can use, right?”  
  
“That’s a hell of a stretch, Kahl.” Eric added. His eyes darted across the screen as he continued to play.  
  
Stan nodded. “Exactly. How would we even find a post like that, if one even existed? We don’t have a single clue to where Karen is. She could be miles away, in a different state, even.”  
  
“And even if we did find a post, we don’t even know how to track it.”  
  
Kyle sighed. Instantly denied. “Don’t you know how to do that shit, Cartman?”  
  
“You mean, like, tracking and stuff? Nah, I forgot.” Eric shrugged.  
  
“_Ugh_!” Kyle let out a frustrated groan, throwing his head in his hands.  
  
“Looks like someone’s having a little tantrum,” Eric smirked. “No pussies allowed in my basement, Kahl.”  
  
Kyle pulled his hat over his face by the ear flaps.  
  
“Wait, wait, Kyle’s idea isn’t bad.” Kenny affirmed. “I think I know someone who could help us.”  
  
Stan raised an eyebrow. Kyle lifted his hat. Eric swore over his game.  
  
“If anyone can find a post like that, it’s her.” Kenny declared.  
  
“_Her_?” Stan repeated.  
  
The three of them shared a knowing look, and Kenny grinned.  
  
Stan’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. “Oh my god, you guys are _fucki__ng_ neurotic.”

  
***

  
  
“You want me to what?”  
  
“Just search for anything related to Karen McCormick posted after last night. Please, Wendy. We need to find out where she is.”  
  
Wendy sounded agitated over the phone. Kyle could hear the rapid ticking of her nails on a hard surface. “I’m not going to get in trouble for this, am I?”  
  
“No no no, I swear. You won’t be involved in any other way. Just find us a lead and we’ll keep you out of this.” Kyle assured.  
  
“And Stan’s a part of this whole fiasco too?”  
  
Stan overheard her and shook his head, mouthing out the word ‘no.’  
  
“Uh, nope.” Kyle lied. “Not at all.”  
  
“I find that hard to believe,” Kyle could almost hear her eyes roll after that statement. “But fine, I’ll do what I can, but only because Karen deserves better than being forced into the system. Poor girl...”  
  
Kyle lit up, as well as Kenny. They gave each other a thumbs-up. “Thanks _so_ much, Wendy.”  
  
“I’m not promising you I’ll find anything, I’m only promising that I’ll try,” Wendy sighed, her fingers continuing to drum. “And when you see Stan, you tell him to text me right away. I’m tired of him cancelling our study dates.”  
  
She abruptly hung up, and Kyle and Kenny shared a triumphant high-five. Stan was less ecstatic, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
“I can’t believe I let you fuckers bring her into this.” He grumbled.  
  
“Me neither! You’ve got the best girlfriend ever, Stan!” Kenny cackled.  
  
“I just did it to get you dipshits off my case, and I know you would have called her anyways.” Stan leaned against the wall, smug, like he was being the better man. “Now, you two owe me a favor.”  
  
“Aw geez.” Kenny waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “What is it that you require, my lord?”  
  
“Oh! _7/11_!” Eric shouted, cutting his game short and slamming the laptop shut. “Stan, ask for 7/11! I’ve been wanting a Slurpee so bad, _pleeeeea__se _Stan?”  
  
“7/11?” Stan looked down at Eric with confusion, while the other clasped his hands and looked up, like he was praying to a God for mercy.  
  
“You got it, boss.” Kenny grinned. “We’ll go get some Slurpees with Kyle’s hard-earned money, won’t we, Kyle?” He asked, slinging his arm around Kyle’s shoulders. Kyle confusedly examines Kenny. His eyes were wide, like he was suggesting something.  
  
“_Won’t we, Kyle_?” He asked, slower this time, tediously nodding his head.  
  
“Oh, oh!” Kyle’s eyes widened as he partially understood. “Yes, we’ll go get some for all of us. Deal?”  
  
He and Stan engaged in a silent conversation. His unmoving face asked, “_are you sure about all of this_?” Kyle’s determined face responded. “_Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry about me._”  
  
Stan scoffed and shook his head in a “_whatever_,” sort of way. Kyle felt the pocket where his wallet resided. Still there.  
  
Eric beamed. “Yeah, hell yeah! I want cherry, with a little splash of blue in the middle, and then little on the top. You got all that?”  
  
“Cherry is the worst Slurpee flavor, dumbass. No wonder you are the way you are.” Kenny was already halfway up the stairs, practically dragging Kyle up with him.  
  
“Be careful nobody’s sees you, otherwise they’ll totally arrest you and take the Slurpee money, Kahl.”  
  
“Yeah yeah,” Kyle huffed, watching Kenny fold his drooping hood over his face and yank on the drawstrings. He stumbled, since his eyes were covered, but you obviously couldn’t see his face. “Cherry with blue. What about you, Stan?”

  
Stan’s deep dark eyes turned piercing, like sharp knives, like the broken end of a beer bottle.

  
  
Like bullets.

  
Stan shot an unforgiving glare at Kyle, before he was dragged out of the basement by Kenny.

  
  
Stan’s lead eyes were the last thing Kyle felt pierce his body before Kenny the door shut in his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next installment, Kenny and Kyle are gay at the local 7/11.
> 
> Uh so school started again and I have no time for anything. I usually write at night but I’ve been so exhausted that I just fall asleep.
> 
> I’m aiming for at least 2 updates per week starting next week so hopefully I’ll maintain that schedule. sorry for the sudden change whoops :/
> 
> this chapter was sort of filler, but I felt compelled to post what I had. The next will be better I promise uwu
> 
> \- jamie


	5. 7/11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally  
a little hint of
> 
> i n t i m a c y

The sky was darker now, fading from a bright blue to a deepening indigo. The sun made its way to the west, dragging along the evening with it. It was unusual. It felt like winter was still very present, even though it was the middle of spring. Days were supposed to be getting longer, but not much time had passed and it was already turning late.

Kyle watched as the moon started to appear, as well as a few faint speckles of white in the vast sky above him. The thick clouds covered most of the stars, but where there was a clearing, he could see them, small and twinkling. 

“Watch out,” Kenny’s voice warned. Just as Kyle was about to trip over a cleft in the pavement, he skirted over it at Kenny’s mention, looking back at the rift.

“Watch where you’re going,” He said.

_What the hell is your problem? _Kyle furrowed his brows. Kenny sounded cold, unconcerned. It was as if the moment they had left the basement, he had taken on a new persona.

Kyle focused on the sidewalk, counting each line that separated each square of cement. “Why’d you insist on coming to 7/11?” He asked, shoving his icy hands into his sweater pocket.

“Just thought it would be nice to get out.” Kenny shrugged. “Cartman’s basement isn’t exactly the ideal hideout you said it was.”

Kyle noticed the frosty breath coming out of Kenny’s parted lips, the only part of his face not shadowed by his hood. He didn’t want to push the envelope, but the unbearable silence forced him to. It was awkward, and Kyle started to sweat, even out in the chilly twilight.

“That’s it?” He pressed.

“Yeah, why?” Kenny side-eyed Kyle and abruptly stopped his staring. “Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

Kyle heard the sarcasm that followed each word. “What do you think, smart ass?”

Kenny threw his hands up in an unaware gesture.

Kyle made an irritated face. “You know what I’m talking about, dumb ass. Cut that shit out.”

“First, I’m the smart ass, now I’m the dumb ass. Which one is it?”

Kyle felt the urge to shout without warning. Maybe this was what Kenny felt when he got angry at Stan, that same sort of rising, hot frustration. “You...” He grumbled, before leaning in and muttering under his breath, as if there was anyone around who could hear. “_Us_. What was _that_? Whatever happened last night—“

“Oh, look,” Kenny gestured to a square building up ahead. “We’re here already.”

They had arrived quicker than expected. Kyle felt like he had lost all track of time. The 7/11 radiated light though the windows and from its bright, buzzing logo. It was a strange eyesore among the more regular looking buildings in the area. Had it always been that way? Even so, it was distracting. It was besides the point. 

“Kenny,” Kyle started, but Kenny was already two steps ahead, leading the way and waltzing right into the parking lot before Kyle could even catch up. By the time he had maneuvered around a few parked cars, Kenny had already disappeared inside the store.

“Goddamn it.” Kyle followed him inside. There was the chime of the door, the instant wave of somehow even colder air hitting his face, and a very bored looking teenager at the front desk, greeting Kyle with a very generic, “Welcome in.”

Kyle shivered at the coolness and could only nod in response. The resounding hum of the air conditioner and nothing else, coupled with the painfully white fluorescent lights was especially eerie. Kyle felt like he was the only real person in the store. Like Kenny wasn’t hiding amongst the isles of chips and poorly cooked hot dogs. This 7/11 was a plane of existence all its own. _As if this town couldn’t get any weirder..._

Despite the teenage cashier looking completely uninterested in whatever he was up to, Kyle didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He silently stalked through the first isle, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible while looking for Kenny, which was surprisingly hard considering the size of the store. There couldn’t be more than 7 isles, and there were no secret corners or places to hide.

“Kenny,” He hissed, turning around another isle. “This isn’t fucking funny, asshole.”

The hum seemed to grow louder. Louder, each isle Kyle searched down. Either Kenny wasn’t in the store, or he was a step ahead of Kyle’s every move.

The LED lights overhead flickered. This felt like a horror movie. This was the part where the killer would creep up behind the virgin, soaked in the blood of her friends, silently raise his giant meat cleaver and—

“_Boo_,” Kenny’s fingers brushed Kyle’s ribs, which was more than enough make the other’s body completely seize up, like a full body flinch. Kyle let out an embarrassing yelp, turning on his heels and nearly falling back into the rack behind him. Kenny had the most shit-eating grin on his face. He put a sleeve over his mouth to stifle his uncontrollable laughter.

“What the fuck dude?” Kyle spat, flush with humiliation. Kenny struggled to breathe, gasping as he doubled over. He was like a malfunctioning computer, repeating the same sound over and over again. Kyle shoved him out of anger to set him back to normal.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry,” Kenny gasped out, “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop myself.”

“That wasn’t fucking funny.”

“You should have seen your face! Jesus Christ, you looked like you were about to shit yourself...”

Kyle balled his hands into fists and whacked Kenny’s arm with a weak punch. “Quit fucking laughing!”

Kyle smacked him until he stopped, which took a few solid punches. Once Kenny was finished, he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Oh my god, I’m crying. That was hilarious—“ He insisted, much to Kyle’s dismay.

“Yeah, I’m laughing my ass off.” He scoffed, pushing past Kenny and making for the Slurpee corner at the opposite side of the store.

Kyle heard Kenny’s intruding voice over his shoulder. “Come on,” He jovially said, “Don’t be a prick, it was a joke.”

“You think everything’s a joke,” Kyle snarled, forcefully pulling a foam cup from the dispenser and jerking down a lever that filled it with cherry Slurpee. Burning.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kyle added a splash of blue raspberry, just like Eric requested. “You won’t talk to me.”

“About what?”

Kyle finished filling the cup to the brim with frozen, sugary shit and searched for the right sized lid to seal it with. “There you go, acting like nothing fucking happened—“ Burning.

“What happened?” Kenny laughed out in disbelief.

“_Stop_! Stop _fucking_ laughing!” Kyle’s fingers pressed into the weak foam of the cup, tightening until he finally punctured it, red and blue slush oozing out of the sides. 

Scorched.

The store turned silent again. The sound of the liquid dripping onto the floor seemed to echo with the ever present hum. Kyle realized his fingers were inside the cup, crushing it in his hand and spilling the insides between the two of them. He stared at Kenny’s chest, unable to look him in the eyes.

As if the situation wasn’t mortifying enough, the cashier raised his cracking voice from behind the counter. “Do you need me to clean that up for you?”

Kyle swallowed the shame that welled in his throat. He put the torn cup on the serving counter and pulled out his wallet, sticking it in Kenny’s hand.

“You pay,” he muttered, before wordlessly brushing through the isles and exiting the store. The bell chimed and the AC hummed.

The cashier sighed and looked around for a mop.

***

The day had only gotten colder. The sky was a deeper, dusky hue, and more stars were appearing. Alone, leaning against the wall of the 7/11, Kyle could watch them all he wanted, so long as he could stand the smell of the dumpster right beside him.

Sometimes he wished he had something—a guilty pleasure of some sort—to turn to when he felt turmoil like this. He wasn’t a smoker, like Stan, and he wasn’t a drinker, like Stan. 

Stan had a lot of vices. Kyle had none.

Well, that wasn’t _entirely_ true. Kyle had _one_.

He heard the door chime, and a crunching sound as Kenny’s boots trod on the patches of snow on the ground. Kyle didn’t bother to look up, favoring the ground now instead of the sky.

He caught Kenny’s legs and rugged boots standing beside him out of the corner of his eye.

“Brought you some stuff.”

Kyle only glanced at what he held in his arms. Two Slurpees, one bag of hot chips, another of regular. Kenny extended one of the Slurpees to him. Blue Raspberry. The straw was already unwrapped and stuck inside.

Kyle snatched it. “Took you long enough,” He not-so-subtly mumbled.

“I had a conversation with the cashier guy,” Kenny explained, setting the other Slurpee and chips on the ground by his shoes. “Pretty friendly. Gives good advice.”

Kyle ignored Kenny’s words and sipped from the cup, cringing as a surge of cold occasionally rushed to his head.

Kenny quickly realized that his words were bouncing off Kyle.

“I’m sorry,” He apologized, shockingly, “We can talk now.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and released the straw from his mouth. “I’d rather not, next to the dumpster.”

Kenny shrugged. “Feels just like home to me.”

Kyle huffed out a silent laugh.

“Seriously, what did you want to say?” Kenny insisted.

Kyle quickly overcame another small brain freeze, then defrosted his thoughts. “Are you really _that_ stupid?” He questioned. “Or do you not remember, or something? Was I dreaming about last night?”

It sounded ludicrous to say. A smile found itself on Kyle’s face. Maybe last night was just a very vivid dream, and Kyle was grilling Kenny for no reason. Maybe he sounded crazy.

“I don’t know...” Kenny’s voice was now low and hushed, like the ambient sounds around them. Kyle’s skin jumped, and he was paralyzed as Kenny’s hand slid down his arm and interlocked their fingers.

Kyle started at him in disbelief. Deer.

Kenny blinked, confused at Kyle’s own confusion. Headlights.

He quirked a smile. A dumb smile. “Does this feel like a dream?”

Kyle choked on nothing, swallowing hard. “_What the fuck,_” He breathed out, sweating and panicking and questioning if he really was dreaming. This was weird again. That strange feeling from last night. The feeling was so vivid, it couldn’t have been a dream. This couldn’t be a dream. 

Kenny was fucking with him.

Kyle’s mind skyrocketed from his body, so much so that he didn’t feel Kenny’s cold, callous fingers graze his jaw, or their lips unexpectedly connecting. The familiar feeling of Kenny’s frozen lips drew Kyle’s mind back to where it was meant to reside. Coming to his senses was a frightening few seconds, until he felt the comfort of Kenny holding his face with one hand and holding them together with the other.

Kyle stood with one hand still clasped around his Slurpee, until he inelegantly dropped the cup after feeling the need to hold onto Kenny’s shoulders, so he wouldn’t collapse onto the cold hard concrete.

The first kiss was just like the last one: quick, soft, over. Kyle barely had time to recognize it, but now, he was well associated with the strange, reoccurring feeling. The fluttering in his stomach.

Kenny’s hood had been covering most of his face the entire time. Kyle drew it back like the veil of a bride, revealing Kenny’s eyes, glassy and brilliant. The fluttering melted into something else. Something that compelled Kyle to pull Kenny in for another, deeper kiss. 

Naturally, Kyle felt compromising, as he was now pressed against the dumpster, but as Kenny’s tongue expertly found a way into his mouth, he felt safe, like the world was still, save for them.

Kenny tasted like sugar and salt and hot chips. Kyle probably tasted like blue raspberry.

Kyle wished he knew what to do, how to move, how to do anything except weave his fingers in Kenny’s locks of blonde and melt into him like the snow beneath their feet. He felt somewhat thankful when they finally parted. Now, all he had to do was breathe, which was a task all its own.

Kyle heaved, gasping for air, clawing Kenny’s back in a strangling embrace as he reached for new air. Kenny held him until he filled his lungs well enough, and they remained like that. Holding each other.

Kenny’s voice seemed far away. Perhaps Kyle was too light-headed to hear properly. 

“We could...”

“What?” Kyle muttered.

Kenny forced a laugh. “We could do it in this dumpster—“

For a split-second, Kyle actually considered the offer, stupid and mood-wrecking as it was. Luckily, his phone chimed before he had to decide. He reached for it, but Kenny had already pulled it out of his pocket.

“It’s Wendy,” Kenny said, pushing their hug apart. 

“What does it say?” Kyle snagged his phone and read the bright screen.

_wendy: I found something. Check it out and tell me if it’s worth tracking._

_[link attachment]_

“Instagram post,” Kenny said. “Oh shit, we gotta go. Come on, back to Cartman’s.”

Kenny picked up the bags of chips from the floor and shoved them in his sweater pocket, gripping Eric’s Slurpee in one hand. He held Kyle’s in the other, and they took off down the sidewalk. Kyle saw Kenny flash a wink to the cashier inside the 7/11 as they passed outside.

He squeezed Kenny’s hand and smiled, forgetting the many questions that plagued him, for now.

Snow began to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yippee this chapter finally came out
> 
> school has been buttfucking me and it’s pretty rough, so expect updates like how I’ve been updating this and chapter 4.
> 
> hopefully y’all enjoyed uwu
> 
> tune in next time to see What The Fuck Is Up With Karen and Kyle Being A Supportive BF. Also, shenanigans uwu.
> 
> \- jamie


	6. Similar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this episode: character development
> 
> pls excuse any mistakes I proofread this at 1:03 am

Kyle wiped his hand on his sweater. It was uncomfortably moist after being squished between Kenny’s fingers the entire walk back. Although undeniably awkward, it was pleasant. Such a domestic act was unusual, coming from Kenny, but Kyle would take whatever he could get. 

Kenny flung open the basement door once they arrived. “You two,” He announced from the top of the stairs. “Stop whatever you’re doing.” 

Kyle  trod  behind him as they entered, locking the door. In the hollow room, Stan was on the phone, frantically pacing around, and Eric was on the couch, still fidgeting with his game controller and laptop. He jumped as Kenny boomed upon stepping into the basement.

“Motherfucker!” He spat. He slammed his laptop shut and threw his game controller at the far end of the couch.  “ Made me  _fucking_ misfire,  fucking  mis-click — “

“Rainbow is overrated anyways.” Kenny hopped over the railing and landed with a thud as his boots met the cement floor. He shoved the  styrofoam  cup he held into Eric’s hands to subdue him and pushed his legs off the couch to make room for himself. 

Kenny plunked himself down and urgently beckoned for Kyle to join. Kyle pensively walked  forward , eyes focused on Stan, who was quickly talking into his phone.

“Yes, yes, but mom— Jesus Christ, let me talk to dad, _let me talk to him_,” were the phrases he kept repeating. Stan had noticed Kyle and Kenny’s resounding entrance at once, and began speaking into the phone at a quieter tone.

Their eyes connected briefly. Stan showed no sign of difference from their last encounter and quickly turned away. “Hold on, I’ll call you back in a minute,” He begrudgingly whispered. The voice on the other line continued to shout before Stan abruptly hit ‘end call.’

Kyle jammed himself between Eric and Kenny, Stan following up behind and holding onto the back of the couch. 

“_Sooo_ ... What’s the deal?” Stan asked, apathetically.

“Wendy texted,” Kyle replied, sliding his phone out from his pocket.

Stan suddenly seemed interested.

“She sent an Instagram link. We thought it would be good if we all saw it together,” Kyle explained.

“Jesus, you take too long.” Kenny grappled the phone and hastily tapped on the screen, opening the text message and trying to click on the link. “Come on! Let’s just  fucking see it already!”

The link transferred them to an Instagram post. In the depths of Eric’s basement, cell service wasn’t exactly at peak performance. The screen buffered. The boys followed the loading icon in silence. Eric noisily guzzled his Slurpee, providing added reason for irritation.

“Oh my god,” Kenny groaned after a minute of noise and leaned over Kyle’s body. “Can you quit being obnoxious for one second?”

“Sorry for enjoying my goddamn Slurpee, Kenny.” Eric smacked his lips. “We can’t all have shitty lives. Some of us have better things to do than bitch over our miserable little sisters.”

_ Woah,  uncalled-for_ _._ Kyle’s eyes widened in sarcastic surprise. _Typical_... 

Stan shook his head.  “Can you both shut up? All of our lives suck, we’re stuck in  Cartman’s disgusting basement for Christ’s sake— “

Kyle sweat profusely, surrounded by three equally loud bickering voices. Kenny completely inclined over him, another reason to be nervous, Stan shouted directly next to his ear, and Eric battled for dominance among them. 

“I’m not miserable because I’m  fucking poor, I’m miserable because I have to put up with your bullshit on the daily.” 

“Yeah, sure, says the kid whose lived off food stamps his entire life.”

“I’d rather live off food stamps than be a  fatass  like you!”

“This is why I  _fucking _drink—“

“All of you!” Kyle shouted, forcefully shoving everyone back into their places. “The post, it loaded.”

Still sizzling with rage, the three focused on the image before them. 

Karen, and some other man. Young looking, dark hair and eyes, the same Colorado State University sweater that Kyle was wearing. Karen was sitting at a desk, writing out something on a piece of paper and looking at the camera as if she had been taken off guard. Not particularly happy, but not the worst. There was no discernible condition of the house, but she looked clean, which was a surprising sight. Clean face, combed hair, new clothes from what they could see.

Kyle read the caption. 

_ everyone meet my new little sister!  anyone kno how to divide fractions? _

Kenny scanned the post like a machine, analyzing exactly what he was viewing. His expression was unreadable. “What the  fuck is this?” He flatly asked.

“_Doug Matthews_?” Eric asked in disgust.

“Ew,  fucking  pothead.” Stan chimed in. “I used to smoke with him in the tenth grade.”

Kenny’s face morphed into a similarly repulsed scowl. “‘_Everyone meet my new little sister_’?” He snarled. “What the  fuck? Doug-_fucking_-Matthews is Karen’s foster brother? That asshole’s been stoned his entire life. He’ll totally ruin Karen—”

“Nah dude, I heard he cleaned up and his family moved to Fort Collins. Goes to  fucking  CSU, see?” Eric added, pointing to his sweater. “That school’s full of fags, no offense Kyle.” He jeered.

Stan cocked an eyebrow. “Why would they send Karen all the way to Fort Collins?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Probably because any town near here is full of teen moms and heroin addicts.”

They continued to examine the post. Kyle glanced at Kenny, who stared intensely, focusing on Doug’s beaming face. Kyle noticed him subtly shaking. He could almost hear the overactive whirring inside his brain. Was he thinking about going to Fort Collins? Was Kyle? Would Kyle take him that far?

_ Jesus, you’re going to  fucking _ _explode... _Kyle ached to hold Kenny’s hand in some sort of calming gesture._ I swear to God, you can’t go five minutes before having a meltdown._

Kenny seriously needed help.

Stan and Eric exchanged opinions on ‘how gay’ CSU was, a faint noise in Kyle’s mind. He cautiously touched Kenny’s hand, balled into a fist in his lap.

“Are you okay?” He muttered a concern.

Kenny hesitated, and Kyle thought he would  envelop his hand and interlock their fingers like he once did, before he retracted his hand in an unexpected movement. Kyle flinched.

“Text Wendy, tell her to track this  motherfucker.” Kenny rose to his feet and ran a quaking hand through his hair. His now cold blue eyes pierced Kyle’s skin like icicles, and his heart sank. 

Kenny turned and began to stalk back up the creaking stairs while the others remained silent, watching him go. Stan didn’t even bother to provoke him. Kyle tried to follow him, rushing to the rail of the stairs, watching as Kenny approached the door.

“Kenny,“ Kyle started to say.

“I’m going for a walk.” Kenny responded. 

“ You _can’t_— “

But Kenny was already out of the basement, silently shutting the door, which was usually preferred to slamming it, but it just made Kyle even more uneasy. If he was truly enraged, he would have slammed it, or shouted some distasteful remark before leaving. He wasn’t simply angry. That was expected. 

Kyle frowned and leaned over the railing. _Of course,_ he sighed._ You can’t ever give me a _ _ fucking break, can you? _

Stan coughed awkwardly. 

“_Yikes_,” Eric said amid the silence. “Talk about a train-wreck, am I right?”

Nobody agreed.

***

Eric had resumed his game, Stan had resumed his phone call, and Kyle resumed his pathetic sulking and desperate yearning. He sat on the floor against the couch, where he had been with Kenny’s head on his shoulder, hand in his hand just hours before.

_Why are you like this?_ Kyle rhetorically asked no one, burying his face in his knees. He was unsure as to if he was referencing Kenny or himself in his question.

His throat tightened, and he uncomfortably swallowed. He would have been angry now, if the events of the past two nights hadn’t happened the way they did. If he hadn’t fallen harder in the past two days than he had since the first moment he realized the small giggle in Kenny’s usual laugh. 

If Kenny wasn’t so very much _himself_, then Kyle would have been angry. Not on the brink of an unprecedented breakdown.

Eric shouted a wide variety of curses at his video game, before getting irritated and taking his things upstairs to put them away (“These  fucking servers are filled with dirty  fucking cucks.”)

Stan similarly shouted into his phone. He was pacing around again, in front of Kyle in the middle of the basement.

“No, mom... I’m _not_ coming... No, I already told you... _Yes_, I’m studying... I’m not...  Fucking Christ, can’t you just trust me for once?” Stan gnashed his teeth together. He squeezed his phone so tightly, Kyle thought he would shatter it right in his palm.

Despite the fact that they most likely hated each other right now, Stan and Kenny looked identical when they were angry. Piercing eyes, unrestrained strength, repelling aura.

Perhaps it was that repulsiveness which strangely attracted Kyle in the first place.

“I’ll come home when I want! Or maybe I won’t come home at all!” Stan gave one last frustrated grunt, before hanging up and shoving his phone in his pocket. Kyle could see the steam fleeing from his head.

“Jesus...” Stan pressed his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose, sighing an exhausted sigh. He looked at Kyle, who was staring at him with mild sympathy. He groaned and ran his hands over his face, stomping to where Kyle sat and sinking down with him.

Kyle opened his mouth and made a sound, but Stan silenced him with a gesture.

“Don’t.” He said, pressing his fingers together in front of Kyle’s face. “Don’t ask.”

“Okay...” Kyle stifled his question and instead posed another. “W-What are we going to do about Kenny?”

Stan rolled his eyes, slapping his hands over his face again. “Are you _seriously_ still on that  shit?” He asked into his hands. “You’re even more delusional than I thought...”

“Yes, I’m serious, Stan.” Kyle shifted in front of him, pulled his hands from his face and gripped them. “I’m going to tell Wendy to track the post. If Kenny wants to find Karen, then I’m going to help him.”

An aloof smile spread across Stan’s face. “You know the difference between us, Kyle?” He asked, sitting upright and crossing his legs. “I have  fucking  respect for myself in my relationship. You don’t.” He shoved his finger into Kyle’s chest. “If Wendy asked me to go on a state-wide manhunt, I’d say, ‘No Wendy, that’s  fucking crazy.’ But you’re so goddamn _obsessed_ that you can’t say no to whatever Kenny wants.”

“ That’s— “

“You’re supposed to be the rational one for Christ’s sake!” Stan lowered his voice to a snippy whisper. “Where do you draw the line, Kyle? At what point does it become too much to handle? Are you willing to give up your life for him? Are you willing to kidnap a perfectly happy girl for someone who’d never do the same for you?”

Kyle felt the air leave his lungs. He didn’t realize how he sunk his short fingernails into Stan’s wrists.

_Was he?_

That was stupid, that was a stupid question.

Kyle forced himself to swallow. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No, _you_ don’t know what _you’re_ talking about,” Stan enunciated, snatching his hands away. “You’re _crazy_, Kyle. Your crazy for thinking this could ever work.”

_This must be what Kenny feels,_ Kyle thought. The unbridled rage, seeing in shades of red. The furious shaking and whirring and teeth smashing and jaw tightening and stomach churning and heat rising and rising—

“Kyle,” Stan grabbed his hand and jerked him forward, stealing his attention for one more moment.

“Dude, I’m not trying to be an asshole,” Stan explained in a softer tone. “I... I seriously just don’t want you to get hurt, or in trouble. I’m trying to help.”

“Well you’re not.”

“Apparently.” Stan sighed and released his hand. “I tried to talk some sense into you earlier, but I guess that didn’t work. So I’ll say this.”

Stan’s eyes were hard, but not cold. They were serious. Kyle’s eyes must’ve been the same, from the way they almost understood each other  in that moment .

“I won’t tell you what to do anymore. I’ll stop looking out for you,” Stan said. “But don’t expect me to back you up from now on.”

Kyle felt a sense of loss at Stan’s words. He was losing an ally, at least in their current adventure.

“Fine,” He mustered. A brief thought that had occurred to him suddenly surged back into his mind. “Then... I guess you won’t be angry if I tell you I’m ditching school tomorrow.”

Stan’s face contorted with confusion. “What? Why?”

Kyle didn’t quite know himself. The thought had struck him so quickly and flew out of his mouth in an  instant, and he didn’t have time to process what he was saying.

“I’m...” He struggled to piece together the sudden idea that he had. “I’m going to... to Fort Collins. I’m going to drive there, tomorrow after lunch, with Kenny.”

“You just... decided that now?” Stan asked.

“Yes.”

Stan thought, before offering a conflicted shrug.  “I guess I won’t stop you. Just... be safe? I don’t know. You know I don’t want you to do this—“

“But you said you won’t tell me what to do.”

“Oh,  fuck you. I know what I said, idiot.” Stan scoffed, only half joking, before a resounding ring echoed from his back pocket.

“_Great_, just _great_,” He grumbled, tacking on a painfully fake smile as he answered his phone. “Hi, mom.”

His grin dropped instantly as he and Kyle both heard the screaming voice of Stan’s mother on the other side of the phone.

“_What_? No, no— you don’t need to come over, everything’s fine, I told you!” Stan rushed to his feet, as did Kyle, and searched the room desperately. “No, wait, I-I’ll, I’ll come home, fine! Jesus Christ, I’m coming home. Fine, go ahead! Get the breathalyzer!_ I don’t care_!”

Stan anxiously hung up after spotting his backpack in the corner of the room and swooping it up. He slung it over his shoulder and made his way to the stairs, brushing past Kyle and shooting him an “_I’m sorry,_” look.

He dashed up the stairs and reached for the doorknob before it was pulled away from him. The door opened from the opposite side.

Stan and Kenny met each other’s surprised eyes, before their expressions changed into dark, disgruntled glares. Stan said nothing as he shoved past Kenny and exited the basement. Kenny stood still for a moment and heard him leave through the back door, before he finally entered the basement and let the door shut behind him.

He looked at Kyle, again, with an indecipherable expression, partially because he wore his hood again. Kenny pulled it  back, and  they stared at each other in bitter silence.

Kyle gulped. “I’ll take you to Fort Collins tomorrow.”

Kenny raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Kyle nodded and approached him. “After lunch tomorrow. We can take my dad’s car.”

“... What about Stan, and  fatass ?”

“They’re not coming. Stan said he’s not going to stop me anymore.” Kyle shook his head. “It’ll just be us.”

Kyle caught a hint of a smile on Kenny’s lips as he spoke. “Like a... road trip?”

“Sure.” Kyle shrugged. “Like a road trip.”

Kenny visibly beamed, pulling Kyle into a hug. He was cold from the outside air, but Kyle found him warmer than ever.

“We’ll... We’ll get Karen, yeah?” Kenny asked into Kyle’s hat.

“Yeah, I promised, didn’t I?” Kyle said into his shoulder.

Kyle could feel Kenny smile. “We’ll get Karen, and then we’ll be a family. Us three.”

Kyle couldn’t find the right words to say, instead breathing in the faint smell of pine from Kenny’s sweater. 

Stan’s words echoed in his mind. He was certain in his answer now.

_Yes, he was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next time for The Obligatory Roadtrip uwu
> 
> I was going to include the whole road trip part in this chapter but it would have dragged on too long and I think this is a good place to end the chapter.
> 
> thank u random name generator for the name doug matthews I couldn’t have done it without u <33333
> 
> Today we learned that Kyle Is HopelessTM and Stan Is Trying. Also, Karen exists!!! Wowie!!!
> 
> I’ll be updating soon hopefully, so look forward to that I suppose uwu
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> \- james


	7. Getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this episode: Kyle Is Conflicted and Ike Pops Off

Wendy handed Kyle a folded slip of paper.

“Here,” She muttered as Kyle took the piece from between her fingers. “This is the address. And if you tell anyone about this—”

“Yeah, I know.” Kyle gave a curt nod. “Thanks, Wendy.”

Wendy sighed and combed her fingers through her glossy hair. “Just make sure that Karen is safe. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but I hope she’s okay, poor thing...”

“Of course. That’s why we’re going to see her.” Kyle pocketed the paper, flinching as the first bell sounded, followed by classroom doors swinging open at once.

Wendy clicked her tongue dismissively and looked around, as if she was uncomfortable discussing the topic further now that a crowd was forming. “Whatever. Just make sure she’s safe. Whether that be in a foster home or not doesn’t matter.” She shouldered past Kyle, slipping into the amass of students pouring into the hall, shuffling about and filing into their respective classes. 

A sudden swell of anxiety filled Kyle’s stomach and he enclosed the note tightly in his fist. He was carrying this entire operation on his shoulders, and it would all come to fruition with what was scribbled in purple pen on this scrap of paper.

He rubbed the back of his neck and joined the students, silent among the ceaseless chatter that surrounded him. He quickly spotted his first class and escaped into the cold room.

_Four more hours. _

Kyle shuddered and found his seat.

***

Throughout the first two hours, Kyle could hardly hear his teachers. All sounds other than his own breathing were muted, fuzzy, mumbled phrases. He held his pencil, but couldn’t remember how to properly write.

_“... yle... Ky... are... paying... ention?”_

I seriously didn’t think this through,  Kyle thought, dragging his pencil across the blank sheet of paper that was meant for his notes.  My mom is going to beat my ass. Ike will probably snitch on me. What am I going to tell them when I come back?

“_... Kyle... _ Kyle !”

A sharp clap. Kyle raised his head at once and immediately felt the prying eyes of his classmates on his skin. Somewhere among them, Stan was rolling his eyes.

His teacher drummed her fingers on her desk. “Just because it’s the last month of school doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay attention, Mr. Broflovski.” 

Kyle’s flushed with embarrassment. “Right, sorry,” He mumbled under his breath. He tapped his pencil on his desk and rested his head in his hand, trying to ignore the remaining fixed looks. His eyes flew to the clock. 

Five more minutes to break. Five more minutes until a brief breath of freedom...

Break came quickly, but Kyle’s persistent thoughts remained and entrapped him. Stan approached him as he exited the classroom, clasping a hand over his shoulder. Kyle didn’t so much as flinch, staring at his scuffed shoes as he dragged himself towards the courtyard.

“So, you still gonna do it?” Stan asked as they stepped into the courtyard, squinting as the dull morning sun hit his face.

“Yep.” 

“Ditching at lunch?”

“That’s what I said I would do.”

Stan shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “You’re going to miss the math final, you know.”

_The math final. The last section. Sixth period._

Kyle stood upright. The very thing he had been preparing for all year. He would miss it. As if things couldn’t get any worse.

“ _Fuck_ .” Kyle pulled his hat down by the ear flaps. “Oh my god, I’m totally going to miss the final...”

Stan shrugged as they walked along the perimeter of the courtyard. “You could always stay, and, you know, _not_ ditch and possibly commit a crime.”

Kyle groaned with frustration. A true crossroads. 

“Too bad you don’t have third period math, like me.” Stan gleefully smiled and Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if Stan was getting the slightest kick out of his misfortune. Perhaps he was proud of himself for being right in that this was a bad idea. “No Harvard for you, I guess.”

_He’s probably stopped caring by now. _ Kyle pushed his hat up and glared at Stan. “I don’t even want to go to Harvard.”

“Still. It’s gonna suck if you’re not there.”

“You can’t persuade me, if that’s what you’re trying to do.” Kyle huffed and looked away from Stan, who carelessly kicked the small patches snow in front of their path. “I made a promise. I’d be a shitty friend if I just backed out.”

Stan shook his head. “Whatever, it’s your funeral, psycho,” He disregarded. “What are you going to tell your mom once the school calls?”

Kyle thumbed the note in his pocket. “I don’t know. This isn’t about me, anyways, so it doesn’t matter. This is for Kenny.”

“Oh, I know. You’ve made that  _very_ clear.” 

Kyle hit Stan’s forearm with a pitiful punch. “Shut the fuck up.”

Stan didn’t push the point any further. They circled the courtyard in silence until the bell angrily trilled. As students flooded back into the hall, Kyle turned on his heels and followed, Stan trailing close behind. The quicker he made it to class, the sooner class would be over, and the sooner lunch would arrive, and the sooner he and Kenny would be on their way to Fort Collins.

_And the sooner this whole thing will be over, _ Kyle hopefully thought.

“Kyle—” Stan grabbed his arm just as he was about to slip into his next class. “Can you just... use your head for once this week?”

“Sure.” Kyle absentmindedly responded, shrugging Stan’s hand off and fleeing into his class.

***

Kyle was a good kid. Good grades, good reputation (surprisingly), good attitude. He acquired his lunch pass promptly after obtaining his driving license. He earned it, which was why it felt so wrong to use it for malicious purposes. He kept his hat low as he quickly flashed it to the security guard at the front gate, slipping past the metal bars that enclosed the school. He caught a glimpse of Stan and Eric in the courtyard as he hurried down the sidewalk. Guilt washed over him.

Stan is right,  Kyle shamefully realized.  This is borderline illegal. What are we going to do when we get to the house? Kidnap Karen? Then what?

He looked back at the high school. If anyone found out about this, if anything consequential happened... would he even graduate? Kyle winced painfully at the idea of being held back— or worse. He was so close to graduation, how could he risk everything he had worked for like this?

Then he remembered.

He shook off the feelings of doubt and hurried down the sidewalk.

_This isn’t about me. _

Kyle remembered Stan’s words, hazy, as if he hadn’t uttered them only a night before.

_“Kyle, I’m just looking out for you. For the both of you.” _

Shut up, Stan. You think you’re so fucking smart,  Kyle told himself.  You don’t care about anyone but yourself. 

_“Are you willing to kidnap a perfectly happy girl for someone who’d never do the same for you?”_

_You don’t know him... _ Kyle bounded down the street. 

_You don’t know me._

***

It was a long walk from the high school back to Eric’s house. Even walking at a brisk pace had Kyle sweaty, swallowing gulps of air by the time he had reached his block. He approached Eric’s front yard, surveying the street for anyone who would spot him, God forbid his parents.

“Kenny,” Kyle hoarsely whispered from the sidewalk. “Come on, let’s go.”

No response. He attempted to appear as inconspicuous as possible, searching the observable perimeter for any sign of a boy in a blatantly obvious Jew Scouts hoodie.

_Nobody would have found him, right?_

Kyle left footprints the snow as he walked down the side of Eric’s house in search of Kenny. He paced down the backyard fence, turned the corner, and nearly fell on his ass as he collided with another figure.

“Oh, hey—“ Kenny wore a toothy grin, almost surprised to see Kyle.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Kyle scolded. “I told you to hide in the bushes.”

“They were too prickly.”

Kyle groaned and rolled his eyes. “Jesus... Okay, whatever. Let’s just get going before the school realizes I’m not there.”

They opted to swiftly move behind Stan’s house to Kyle’s as a detour and for protection from street view, slinking along fences and painted walls.

“We’re sort of like spies,” Kenny commented.

“_Shh_!” Kyle hissed as they slid along the wall of his house. “Stay here. I need to get the keys for my dad’s car.”

The car sat in in the driveway, a thick layer of snow blanketed atop it. Kenny cocked his head, peering around Kyle to examine the vehicle they would be trapped in for the next two hours.

“Your dad’s not at work?” Hs asked.

Kyle pulled out his phone, thumbs shaking from the cold. “No, he had to deal with things from his office.”

“How are you going to get the keys?” Kenny asked, staring at Kyle’s phone.

“I’m texting Ike, hold on.”

“Woah, woah, what the hell? You’ll totally expose us, won’t you?“

“Shut up! I know what I’m doing.”

_Ike_

_Ike, answer me._

_This is serious._

_I need you to bring dad’s car keys outside. I’m waiting on the side of the house._

_baby bro: Aren’t you supposed to be at school?_

_It’s an emergency. I need the keys NOW._

_baby bro: Explain_

_No time_

_baby bro: Explain, or no keys._

_I’m going to Fort Collins with Kenny and I need dad’s car._

_baby bro: Why are you going to Fort Collins?_

_To see Karen. Please just bring us the keys._

_baby bro: You ditched school just to steal dad’s car and drive you and Kenny to Fort Collins to see his sister?_

_I don’t think it’s really stealing, but yes._

_baby bro: Why???_

_We’re going to bring her home so she can be safe._

_baby bro: How do you know she’s not safe in Fort Collins? She’s with a foster family right?_

_Her foster family could be assholes._

_baby bro: So you’re going to KIDNAP her solely on a baseless presumption you made??_

_It’s not like that_

_baby bro: It sure sounds like you’re going to kidnap her solely on a baseless presumption you made._

_baby bro: Kyle, do you realize how convoluted this crazy plan is? I don’t support you literally kidnapping a girl, but even so, you couldn’t have come up with an easier way of going about this? You’re just creating more trouble and obstacles for yourself by being so unnecessarily sneaky about all of this. Do you seriously need dad’s car? Did you seriously need to ditch school? Do you really need to go through with this?_

_Uh_

_This was the only idea I could think of_

_baby bro: Yeah, clearly. You really should start getting to bed earlier. I think the lack of sleep is causing you to act without thinking rationally._

_Ike, I really don’t need a lecture from a 13 year old, or from anyone for that matter. I’m the adult and I know exactly what I’m doing._

Kyle’s fingers shook as he typed. As he  _lied_ . He chewed the nail of his thumb while he waited for each response.

_baby bro: I’m just trying to look out for you Kyle._

_I don’t need anyone to look out for me. I can do what I want. I’m an adult._

_baby bro: Which is exactly why you need to start acting like one for once._

Since when did everyone become a smart ass?

_Just get me the damn keys._

_baby bro: Fine._

Kyle waited anxiously, rocking on his heels and occasionally checking around the corner of the house. He jumped as he heard the quiet clinking of the door lock. He gestured for Kenny to stay and met Ike at the front steps. He made sure not to stand directly in front of the door incase anyone were to pass by and see him outside.

Ike looked agitated, but also visibly concerned. 

“Hey, I’m sorry about this,” Kyle quickly apologized to his brother, who stood in the doorway. He had his arms crossed, keys hanging on his finger.

“You _do_ realize the trouble you’re going to be in by the end of this, don’t you?” Ike asked, looking around Kyle suspiciously.

“Yes, but I need to do this. It’s more important than you’d understand.” Kyle extended his hand to take the keys, but Ike didn’t move. 

He frowned, turning his head. “What happened to you, Kyle?”

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows. “Nothing.”

“Is it Kenny?”

“ _No_ ,” Kyle spat, stomping up the front steps and snatching the keys right out of Ike’s hand. “Don’t ask me again, and for Christ’s sake, don’t tell mom or dad about this.”

Ike opened his mouth to respond. Before he could speak, Kyle reached for the doorknob and shut the door in a sudden burst of anger, attempting to slam it in the quietest way possible. He huffed, glued to the porch, staring at the spot where Ike had stood, waiting for him to open the door and instigate an argument.

He squeezed the keys in his hand.  _Little brat._

After a long pause, Kyle could hear small footsteps, growing quieter as Ike walked away from the door. He felt a twinge of regret, but it was promptly whisked away by a sudden sound.

“Kyle,” said Kenny in a loud, strained whisper. “Are we leaving or what?”

Kyle blinked. His eyes were fixated in the same spot. His fingers momentarily grazed the front door, only to push himself away and face Kenny determinedly. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” He nodded, voice wavering in the slightest. 

He hopped off the front steps, Kenny following behind as he unlocked the car and flung open the door. He slid into the driver’s seat and Kenny fit himself in the passenger seat beside him.

“Hell yeah,” He grinned, shutting his door as Kyle hastily started the car. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Kyle jerked the gear shift into reverse, awkwardly backing out of the driveway, then trying to maneuver his way back into drive. He took one last look at the front of his house, before hitting the gas and hurtling down the road. His hands slipped on the steering wheel as he began to navigate the both of them out of town, clammy and unsure. The streets had suddenly become unfamiliar the moment he entered the car, and the fear of being caught suddenly became uncomfortably real.

Kyle’s mind raced. _Red light, look around, look for police, look for anyone who would recognize you. Green light, go fast, not too fast, don’t speed, don’t warrant any suspicion._

The ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ sized town felt as hectic as New York City.

_Look right, look left._

Silence, save for the amplified noise of cars and the radio that Kenny had turned on for a moment, then back off, announcing how the songs on the radio were all terrible anyways.

The silence grew louder once they managed to evade the trouble of driving through town. Before long, it was just Kyle, Kenny, and the great Colorado outdoors.

Now out of town, Kyle eased up, relaxing and sinking into his seat. Kenny kicked his boots up on the dashboard, reaching for the lever to recline backwards. He began to snoop around the car, checking the back seat, the glove compartment, under the armrest—

“What are you looking for?” Kyle asked. The sound of rustling junk and the opening and closing of compartments was starting to get irritating.

“Cigarettes?” Kenny responded.

“Ugh,” Kyle threw his head back, heaving an exasperated groan. “Seriously? I wouldn’t let you smoke in this car anyways, but you know that shit’s bad for you, right?”

Kenny shrugged, opening the glove compartment again and seemingly trying to wedge his head in. “It’s just a habit. Maybe I’ll shake it one day.”

Kyle drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. “Do you smoke around Karen?”

Kenny paused, before pulling out of the glove compartment and shutting the hatch. “What?” He asked in more provoked statement sort of way.

“Ever hear of secondhand smoke?” Kyle candidly asked. “You’re endangering her health if you do, if she hasn’t already been exposed to enough while living in that house.”

“Karen was fine at home. Our parents were assholes, but she had me.” Kenny remarked, crossing his arms and propping his boots on the dashboard again. “I get that we’re doing this together, but that’s kind of irrelevant, isn’t it?”

“Not if she’s going to be around you,” Kyle responded. “She needs to be around the best influence.”

“I  _am_ the best influence.” Kenny cocked an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m not?”

“Well, no, I’m just saying she needs what’s best for her, whether that be in a foster home or not.” Kyle fought to remain calm in the face of Kenny’s rising anger. Eyes on the wide, open road. Hands firm on the wheel.

_Wendy told me the same thing earlier._

“I’m her  _brother_, Kyle,” Kenny said. Kyle could hear the peaking agitation in his voice.

“That doesn’t justify taking her from a perfectly good home.”

Kyle tensed as the words left his mouth. He waited for a painfully loud shout about how he was wrong, how he was too ignorant to understand. 

He expected to soon realize how Stan felt.

But Kenny bit his tongue. He scoffed and fell back into his seat, the only indication that he was fuming on the inside was the clenched fist he kept on the armrest.

“If you think this is wrong, then why are you helping me?” Kenny refused to even look Kyle’s way.

“Because...” Kyle had to think. Why was he doing this, again?

He cautiously lifted a hand off the steering wheel and loosened Kenny’s fist, holding his reluctant hand.

“Because I care about you and don’t want your ass getting into trouble.” Kyle answered. “I thought I made it obvious, but I care about you, Ken.”

The admittance of a motive. Kyle felt surprisingly less awkward and pleased with himself more than anything. His thumb grazed Kenny’s hand like before, like he was reliving a fond memory with him.

“Did you hear me?” Kyle announced. “I care about you.” 

Kenny tore his hand away, shoving it in his pocket. 

“Clearly not enough.”

All the blood that was in Kyle’s body rushed out through his feet. His throat tightened, a painfully familiar feeling. His hand laid flat, purposeless on the armrest before he found the strength to place it back on the wheel. He bit his lip, refusing to roll down the window even as he choked on the sudden suffocating feeling that plagued him.

He could only apply pressure to the gas pedal, praying that they’d be forced to stop somewhere ahead and reconcile.

_Two more hours._

It was a long shot, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhh sorry for like a week and no update :((( this chapter was supposed to be longer but I decided against it for pacing purposes
> 
> hope u enjoyed anyways uwu <3
> 
> \- james


	8. Pit Stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no beta we die like men

__

There comes a certain point while driving through the mountains where it becomes, more or less, unbearable.

Kyle found this out fairly quickly, as if the tension filling the car and ear-splitting silence weren’t unbearable enough. Kenny was quiet, motionless, and worst of all, awake. He was like a corpse with it’s eyes open, struck mid-thought, petrified before his last breath. Mummified and swaddled up in his sweater with the hood on, he stared blankly out the window. Kyle wondered if he was sleeping a few times, leaning over to check, only to be met with a wordless, hostile glance.

_I wonder what he’s thinking..? _The thought consumed him._ He’s probably angry at me. Maybe he feels the same way I do._

_Unsure._

Kyle swallowed and let out a shaky breath. He could taste the apprehension in his mouth. His eyes flickered to his phone, navigating them via GPS. 

“We’re coming up on Bailey. Do you want to stop?” He asked the back of Kenny’s still body.

Kenny sighed, the first sound he had made in a while. Kyle watched him like an animal in the zoo as he turned over and arched his back in an extended stretch, accompanied by an obligatory yawn.

He cracked his knuckles. “Sure,” He offered a nonchalant response. “I need to piss anyways.”

“Okay.”

And that was that. Kenny relaxed on his fully reclined seat with his hands under his head. Kyle forced himself not to examine him for any inconsistencies in his ‘I’m angry at you’ act. He instead watched the road ahead blur into a meaningless grey path lined with green patches on a pale blue canvas.

The GPS spoke in her computer generated voice. “_Merge onto the left lane._”

Just as the first building for miles appeared, Kyle heard his phone buzz. 

_ 1 new message from: best friend stan _

Kyle sighed.

“Want me to answer it?” Kenny offered. Kyle shook his head. Kenny would probably “mishear” him and respond with something distasteful. “No,” he declined. 

His phone continued to buzz with notifications from Stan. A couple from Eric, too. Eventually, his phone was bombarded with texts from his mother as expected, constantly ringing with phone call attempts, which Kyle insisted on ending every time without answering. Once they arrived in Bailey, Kyle silenced his phone, switched from his GPS for the time being, and shoved the phone deep down into his pocket.

Bailey was a lot like South Park, but nicer. Kyle noticed this after only a few minutes of driving through the town’s streets. Bailey probably didn’t have crackheads, or newly estranged best friends, or high school seniors running away from home to commit a felony. They had homey family-owned business, cozy restaurants, and—

“A 7/11?” Kyle spotted the unmistakable orange, green, and red from a distance. “Since when was this here?”

Kenny shrugged. “Haven’t been through here in a while. Just pull up.”

Kyle did so, parking at the end of the parking lot across from the building. He shut off the car and yawned, rubbing his eyes. They were sore after staring at the same, bland landscape for so long.

He turned to face Kenny. “So, did you want some—“

But Kenny wasn’t in his seat. The door was open, but he was already walking into the store, hands in his pockets.

Kyle groaned to himself, exiting the car and closing both doors. He made sure to lock it before walking across the parking lot and stepping into the same, familiar fluorescent lights. 

The door chimed, signaling his arrival. The teen at the cash register was thin and nimble. Her long, almost spindly fingers were painted pink at the tips. Her unmarked skin and glistening blonde hair gleamed under the light.

“Welcome in,” She greeted. She smiled, revealing her brilliantly white teeth, neat and perfect.

Kyle nodded in her direction and awkwardly walked into one of the isles. He tried to pick out something worth eating, but his stomach churned at every option. He wasn’t hungry. Hisstomach was full with dead butterflies.

He grabbed a bag of plain potato chips anyway. On the rack over was a line of hot chips. Kyle ran his tongue across the top of his mouth. He could taste them on his lips.

He heard a door open. Kyle’s eyes could barely spy over the isle. Kenny walked out of the bathroom, pulling his sweater sleeves down.

Kyle looked back down at the hot chips. He narrowed his eyes and turned away. He put his chips back, too. They always got stuck between his teeth anyway.

He perused the isles like someone who wasn’t going to pay for anything. If he wasn’t going to eat anything, then he he supposed Kenny would probably want something, lest he grow even more aggravated on the trip. He passed the chip isle and decided to snag him the hot chips, despite his resentful attitude. He examined them while he approached where Kenny was. He looked up and found him at the front desk, talking engagingly with the cashier.

He caught the girl from an angle. Her blonde hair was twirled around her finger. She looked up at Kenny, who was slightly taller than her, and giggled. She sounded like a movie character.

“South Park? I’ve never been.” She said, seemly invested. “Is it like, small?”

“Yeah,” Kenny responded. His voice was low and almost raspy. Kyle recognized it as he continued. “It’s a tiny town, which makes it kinda fucking wild.”

Kyle warily ducked into the first isle, just close enough to hear their conversation and see them through the gaps in the items.

The girl’s laugh was nasally and high and unnaturally drawn out, like her speech. “It’s like, crazy there, or what?”

“Oh _definitely_, place is crazy as hell. That’s why I’m gettin’ the hell out of Dodge, y’know? Can’t be bothered to stay in that shithole.”

Kenny leaned over, resting his elbows on the counter. He tentatively listened to her squeaky laugh like it was the most beautiful sound, and not identical to a suffocating goose, like Kyle thought.

“I’d love to live in a place like this.” Kenny circled his finger on the countertop. “It’s so cozy...”

“For sure, yeah. It’s really nice here.” The girl nodded. “Did you come here by yourself?”

“Nah. Had to drag my friend along. Sort of dead weight, honestly.”

The bag in Kyle’s hand threatened to pop in his clutches. _What the fuck are you talking about? _

“Oh, that weird guy who walked in after you?” The girl sounded like she had a bad taste in her mouth. “He didn’t even say anything when he came in. And what’s up with his hat?”

Kenny chuckled. “No idea. He’s always like that. I just let him tag along with me for the hell of it, you know? Don’t wanna be rude and tell him to fuck off...”

The girl snorted. Kyle could see Kenny’s lips quirk into a carefully formed smile.

That _bastard_.

Kyle appeared from behind the isle, marching right up to the front counter and throwing the bag of hot chips in front of the girl.

“Oh, hi.” She plastered on a fake smile, glancing at Kenny and quietly giggling. “Is this all?”

“Yeah,” Kyle muttered.

She rang him up and he silently retrieved his wallet and exchanged his money with her. It was brisk. She probably didn’t want to be handling something he had touched. The feeling was mutual.

“Oh,” Kenny interjected as the girl handed Kyle his change. “Let me get a pack of Marlboro Reds.”

Kyle eyed Kenny questioningly. Kenny ignored him, smiling at the girl as she set the small box on the counter. “$5.59.”

Kyle opened his mouth to object. Kenny brushed his fingers against Kyle’s wrist below the counter in a gesture he didn’t understand. _At all._ But he found himself pulling out a six dollars and placing them on the counter. Kenny eagerly snatched up the pack of cigarettes.

Kyle couldn’t stand to be in this girl’s presence any longer. “Keep the change,” He grumbled, pulling Kenny out the door by the wrist. The girl said goodbye to him, addressing him by name.

Once they were outside, Kenny pulled his wrist away and stood on the sidewalk, letting Kyle take a few more stomps forward before realizing he wasn’t dragging Kenny along anymore. He was now instead tearing off the plastic wrap and shoving it in his pocket, pulling out his lighter and one cigarette from the pack.

Kenny stalked down the front of the 7/11, lighting the cigarette and stopping at the far corner. Kyle watched from the middle of the parking lot.

“Are you fucking for real?” He shouted.

“What?” Kenny asked around the cigarette in his mouth.

Kyle walked up to him, standing a good few steps in front of his face. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Kenny blew a puff of smoke in the air. “Taking the edge off?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Kyle wanted to smack the cigarette out of his hand. “The whole, th-this thing—“ He grabbed Kenny’s wrist and haphazardly brushed his fingers against his him, “—You think you can treat me like shit and then just get away with it with a touch or whatever?”

“I have _no_ idea what you’re going off about,” Kenny insisted. “Maybe I did that on accident. I probably didn’t mean it.”

Kyle continued to hold his wrist, tightening his grasp. Kenny wore a smug smile, taking a dragon his cigarette. “I do a lot of things I don’t mean.”

“Am I seriously just dead weight to you? A fucking burden, is that it?” Kyle’s voice cracked. His eyes burned with the threat of tears suddenly rushing forward. “Why don’t you just tell me to fuck off, huh? If I’m such a fucking pain, then you can go to Fort Collins yourself!”

Kyle took a step back, but was stopped. He had released Kenny’s wrist, but Kenny was now holding onto _him_. He pulled him back as Kyle continued to walk away— or, attempted to.

“Let go.” Kyle jerked his hand away, only for Kenny to yank him back. Kyle threw the bag he still held at Kenny’s chest in a fit of frustration.

“It was a joke, Kyle. I didn’t mean it.”

“Then why did you say it? Why were you _totally flirting_ with that girl?”

“Are you _jealous_?”

“No. You were being a dick to me, fuckhead. You don’t get to treat me like shit and pretend it’s all good.”

Kyle jerked his hand away, and Kenny finally released him. He frowned and put the cigarette to his mouth. “Kyle, come on.”

“No, don’t ‘_Kyle_’ me.” Kyle treaded backwards, nearly tripling on the curb. “Even if you were joking, it was mean.”

“Did I hurt your feelings that bad?” Kenny asked, exhaling grey.

“Yes. And it’s not just about this. In the car—“

“That was a mistake, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t mean it.” Kyle looked up at Kenny. He stood a half-foot below him, right behind the curb. “Stan was right. I do all this shit for you, and what do I get? A stupid little kiss?”

A hint of something flashed in Kenny’s eyes, but Kyle couldn’t be bothered to care. He turned and walked back to the car, opening the door and slamming it shut once inside.

He took a long, deep breath. He was in the car, alone for the first time in a hot minute. He stared at the rear view mirror, watching as Kenny remained at the corner and continued to smoke.

His phone vibrated and he averted his eyes. 

_ 37 new messages. _

“Fuck,” Kyle cursed under his breath, flicking his thumb across his texts and reading each one from each contact.

_best friend stan: They called your mom_

_best friend stan: Since you didn’t show up to 5th_

_best friend stan: Are you guys there yet?_

_best friend stan: Are you okay?_

_best friend stan: I hope you aren’t in the police department right now_

_best friend stan: Wendy said she gave you the address_

_best friend stan: PLEASE don’t do anything dumb Kyle. I know you want to do your own thing but please try to understand where I’m coming from_

Kyle smiled fondly. He hoped Stan wasn’t worrying too much. Was it 6th period now? There would be one empty chair in his math class today. Nobody would mind, though. They’d be too focused on the final.

_fatass: dude you’re like not here???????_

_fatass: Stan said ur going to Fort Collins for real wtf_

_fatass: you’re literally going to jail_

_fatass: not that I care or anything_

_fatass: good riddance_

_fatass: you’ll be the only jew in that prison_

_fatass: lmao_

_fatass: dumbass_

_fatass: but like are you seriously going?_

Kyle rolled his eyes.

_mom: KYLE, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOUR TEACHER JUST CALLED ME AND SAID YOU WEREN’T IN CLASS TODAY?_

_mom: YOU BETTER NOT BE DITCHING. IF I FIND OUT YOU’RE SKIPPING SCHOOL YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT YOUNG MAN._

_mom: YOU BETTER NOT BE FOOLING AROUND WITH SOME GIRL_

_mom: OR DOING ANY DRUGS._

_mom: YOU COME HOME THIS INSTANT!_

_mom: I’m sorry bubie, your father and I are very worried about you. This is the first time this has happened, and we’re very concerned because we know you’re a good kid. If you’re safe, please call and we can talk about this._

_mom: I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO CALL THE POLICE ON YOU. COME HOME RIGHT NOW!_

The rest of the messages looked identical. The weight of his actions was setting in, slowly but surely. He chewed his nails at the thought of what his mother might do, and she would _definitely_ call the police.

He decided to call Stan. He seemed the easiest to talk to right now. He needed some sense talked into him, as much as he hated to admit it.

The phone rang for a while. He was worried Stan might not pick up, but just when Kyle was about to end it, he heard Stan’s quiet voice on the other end.

“_Hello_?”

“Stan?”

“Kyle!” Stan said in his louder, regular voice. “Are you in Fort Collins yet?”

“Nah. I’m in the car outside of 7/11. We’re about halfway there.”

“What’s the hold up? Where’s Kenny?”

Kyle made a ‘yikes’ face, whistling like some do when faced with a tough question. “He’s not here right now. He’s outside. We were... arguing.”

“Ouch, that’s rough. What about?”

Kyle couldn’t bring himself to say the words ‘you were right.’ For some reason, something inside prevented him from doing so. He awkwardly dodged the question. “Just things.”

“Um, okay? Are you guys going to get there soon?”

“We’re in Bailey. Should be there in about an hour, hour and thirty minutes?” Kyle responded.

“Well, you should probably get going if you’re still planning on doing this.”

“Yeah...” Kyle bit his lip. Stan said nothing in response. He couldn’t even hear his breathing on the other end. 

“_Well_... Good luck? I snuck out to the bathroom to answer this, so I think I should get going.”

“Wait—“ Kyle insisted, checking the rear view mirror to make sure Kenny was still there. “What should I do if... if you were right? About Kenny just, sort of _using_ me...”

Stan hesitated. Kyle could hear him take an a deep breath. “Well... I think you have to figure that out for yourself.”

“_What_?”

“Question him, do some evaluating yourself. If you think he’s just using you, then I was right. But if you don’t think he is... do what you want, I guess?”

Kyle blinked, going over what Stan said once more in his mind. “What the fuck?” He snapped. “You were just telling me what to do, and now you’re saying to do what I think is right?”

“You said you didn’t want me to tell you what to do anymore.”

“I know but— _ugh_ —I came to you for advice because you’re supposed to tell me what to do.”

“But you said—“

“I know what I said!”

“Shh!” Stan whispered into his phone. “I’m in the fucking bathroom. If Kenny’s being a dick, then set him straight. If you think he’s using you, then just leave, don’t waste your time, because I don’t want you going to jail over some dickhead.”

“But he’s usually not like this,” Kyle explained, staring out the window and admiring the beauty of the empty parking lot. “It’s just this whole mess with Karen that’s been setting him off...”

“Okay, then..?” Stan wavered. 

Kyle thought. Kenny was still fixed in the same spot, almost like he was waiting, or thinking himself. Was he really justifying his actions?

With a sigh, Kyle finally responded. “Fine, I’ll figure something out. Thanks, I guess.”

Kyle could hear Stan’s annoying smile. “Of course, Kyle. I’m always looking out for you...”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Kyle set his phone on the armrest and kicked the car door open, sliding out and kicking it shut. He met Kenny’s eyes the whole way across the parking lot, finally reaching him and stoping in his tracks.

He balled his hands into fists. He couldn’t bring himself to sock Kenny in the face, as angry as he was.

_“If Kenny’s being a dick, then set him straight.”_

Kyle smacked the cigarette out of his hand as he raised it to his lips.

“_What the hell?_” Kenny asked.

“That’s for treating me like shit in the car.” Kylereached in his sweater pocket, fishing out the box of cigarettes and stealing them away. “And this is for your stupid _joke_.”

He turned over the box and dumped all the thin tubes on the ground, stomping them and grinding them into the pavement until they were nothing but dust. He threw the empty box at Kenny’s face, where it bounced off his chin.

“That’s also for flirting with that random cashier girl.” He remarked. “Don’t you ever treat me that way again, or you can just walk your ass to Fort Collins.”

Kenny blinked, looking at the mess under Kyle’s shoes, then back at Kyle’s aggressive stare, awaiting a response.

“I... won’t,” Kenny assured, putting his hands up. “I promise.”

“Promise doesn’t mean anything. Just don’t do it,” Kyle scoffed.

“No, I seriously mean it.” Kenny cautiously touched his shoulder. “I’ll try to think about what I say, or whatever... I’ll think... about you..? Instead of just... fucking around.”

Kyle still felt bitter. Kenny was inexperienced with apologies, if this was his best one. He just huffed, shoulders sulking. It wasn’t good, but it would have to do for reconciliation he desired. 

“Alright... Let’s just go...” He begrudgingly said, turning around.

Kenny caught him, first grabbing his shoulders, and then embracing him from behind.

“It was a dick move, for me to say that shit to that girl. I knew you would hear it. It was just a shitty joke, I swear.” He said in the same, low voice. The same voice he used when talking to her.

“Why’d you do it?” Kyle faintly asked. His hands held Kenny’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, not in an affectionate sense, but to make sure he was there. To make sure he was present. _Real_.

“I don’t know. That chick was looking at me weird, I guess I just wanted to fuck around and entertain her for a minute.” Kenny shrugged. “She looked dumb anyways. I was flirting with her, but not because she was hot or anything. It was stupid how desperate she looked.”

_Desperate, _Kyle winced. _Like me, right? Am I just better at concealing it?_

Kyle didn’t say anything, but he could feel Kenny’s anxious fingers squeezing Kyle’s arms. “This is all really stupid, I know. It’s shitty to mess with people like that...”

_Yeah, and yeah._

“I shouldn’t have done that to her. I shouldn’t have done that to _you_.”

Kyle felt himself melting into the cement under his feet, into Kenny’s arms. He tried to think of something to say, a rebuttal of some sort, something that Stan had said that would explain how to deal with this. But he was at a loss.

“You’re... an asshole.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re not _my_ asshole.”

“Fair enough.”

Kyle wriggled out of Kenny’s arms, turning around and caring his hands in his pocket, hiding the fact that he was nervously fidgeting. He wanted to say something like, “_But you’re my friend, Kenny, who just so happens to be an asshole._” The words formed in his mouth, ready to be spoken.

“It’s whatever.”

That didn’t sound right. Kenny winced. He must’ve expected a different response.

Kyle exhaled all the frustrated sentiments he had swallowed. “You’re a dick to everyone, so I guess I’m no different.”

Kenny snuck his hands into Kyle’s pocket. “I’ll be less of a dick to you.”

Kyle huffed out a weak laugh. He pressed his head against Kenny’s shoulder, staring at his shoes, silently listening to the beat of his heart. It didn’t sound the same.

“Hey,” Kenny interjected. “Did you mean what _you_ said, though?”

“About what?” Kyle lifted his head.

Kenny turned his cheek, biting his tongue like he was almost ashamed. “Like, the thing about Stan being right, and... Like, the kiss thing...”

Kyle shook his head. “Not really, I don’t think.”

“So, I could just..?”

“_No_,” Kyle, hands still trapped under Kenny’s in his pocket, pushed him away with his head against his chest. “You just smoked a cigarette.”

“You’re seriously still on that?” Kenny let out an exaggeratedly loud groan. “Maybe just on the cheek?”

Kyle was tired, disappointed, and unsure with himself, but he couldn’t stop a pathetic smile from forming across his face. A terribly unmotivated smile. And he thought _he_ was bad at delivering affection. “Sure.” He rolled his eyes.

His fidgeting fingers stopped at once as Kennysoftly kissed the edge of his mouth. Not exactly his cheek, but Kyle couldn’t mind. He laughed at the stupid kindness of it all, the painful bitterness still trapped in his throat, and turned away.

“It was only one smoke, and I didn’t even finish it,” Kenny insisted.

“Fine,” Kyle disregarded his previous notion and let Kenny kiss him properly, cold lips on cold lips. Kyle was about to warily lean forward when he heard a particularly high, nasally voice and the chime of a door.

“Oh my god, what the _hell_?”

Kyle and Kenny watched as the girl’s face wrinkled in confusion, possible disgust, and embarrassment from where she stood in the doorway.

_“Er— I’m sorry, I thought, th-that was your friend, I—“_

Kenny pulled his hands out from Kyle’s pocket, but before he could reply with a witty response, Kyle pulled him away, dragging him back to the car. How _mortifying_. He jumped into the driver’s seat, wracked with embarrassment, hearing Kenny shout back some remark, before entering the car and closing the door as Kyle started the engine. They sped past the girl, catching her stricken expression. 

“Oh, shit,” Kyle whispered, itching to get out of sight as quickly as possible. “She’s probably so fucking humiliated.” He looked in the rear view mirror and watched as the small figure of her shrunk the further away he drove.

“Why should she be humiliated?” Kenny had turned around, sitting on his knees and peering out the back window. “Serves her right, anyway. Dumb bitch. Who flirts with a random stranger?”

_You, apparently,_ Kyle spitefully thought.

Turning back around, Kenny insisted for Kyle to turn on the radio, filling the car with annoyingly catchy music that occasionally made Kyle long for the silence again.

The 7/11 grew smaller and smaller in the mirror. Left on the sidewalk was an unopened bag of disgustingly hot chips, the scattered remains of a pack of cigarettes, and stomach-full of sickening feelings.

Kyle wished he could believe he had found the reconciliation he had hoped for. But as he placed his hand on the armrest and as Kenny casually interlaced their fingers, his heart felt only half full.

His mind wandered beyond the open road that formed before him. 

_Can I really blame you?_

_I wish I could._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any mistakes I always proofread at 2 in the morning and my eyes aren’t rlly working oops
> 
> the og draft had Kyle and Kenny making up in the end but I quickly realized that was the pussy cop-out way of writing this oops
> 
> Angst? Not really. Kinda sus? Yeah.
> 
> We’re gonna be wrapping everything up in the next two chapters hopefully so stay tuned uwu
> 
> hope u enjoyed <3
> 
> \- james


	9. Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise we get some action in the next chapter uwu

_“Your destination will appear on the right.”_

The residence was less grandiose than Kyle expected. An almost perfectly angular house, more flat than high, among a flourish of tall, thick pines, like a scene from a children’s book. The nearest neighbor was at least a mile away.

“Kinda... Creepy, right?” Kyle said after parking the car quite a ways down on the opposite side of the road. “When Wendy said Fort Collins, I thought she meant in the city. This is more of the outskirts.”

Kenny sat up, leaning forward, eyeing the house with intent. “This is way farther than the outskirts. Huge forest back there. They don’t even have a fence...”

“Probably don’t need one. So far out from the city, you wouldn’t expect anyone coming by, I guess.” Kyle speculated.

“Lucky for us.” Kenny grinned. He opened the car door and stepped out, reaching for the sky and wiggling his fingers. He twisted and his back bones popped. “Let’s go through the forest and come around from behind, and pray that Karen’s room is facing the back.”

Kyle followed, exiting and locking the car, grasping the keys tightly in his fist. He surveyed their eerily desolate surroundings and wished he had brought something — a pocket knife, maybe — for protection. He half expected someone to appear and ask just what they were doing. But there was no one around for miles. Nobody to suspect them, but Kyle had learned by now not to trust anything that came easy. He held the standard metal key between his fingers like a dagger, he and Kenny skirting across the open stretch of road to the opposite side, which was blanketed in a layer of snow and pine needles. He approached the expanse of trees before him, intimidating in size and number, staring down in judgement.

“Let’s get going!” Kenny confidently charged ahead, motioning for Kyle to follow as he quickly disappeared among the pines and shadows. 

“Wait!” Kyle stumbled after him, fleeing into the forest, following Kenny’s footsteps as they weaved through the conifers. His boots left heavy footprints which were easy to follow. Kyle found himself staring down at the tracks and not up ahead, clumsily butting into Kenny and stumbling backwards.

“_Agh_, you scared me,” He laughed. “Not really though. I could hear you coming. You walk like a retarded elephant,” Kenny prodded, cheekily grinning as he walked in tow with Kyle at his side, treading deeper into the thick of the woods. 

Kyle held onto him occasionally for support after nearly tripping over protruding roots. He tried to find the most comfort he could. In any other circumstance, this would have been nice, or, at least not as nerve-wracking (executing a scheme to kidnap someone was never an easy job). 

But he just felt _sick_. He broke out into a cold sweat the deeper they traversed. Kenny must’ve taken notice, from the way he pulled Kyle’s hood over his head, insisting that, “You’ll catch something,” and draping his arm protectively over his shoulders.

“How _considerate_,” Kyle spitefully, yet unassertively muttered. Even still, he found himself shamefully leaning into the warmth of Kenny’s side. He took a deep breath of the crisp, pine-enriched air and they continued on, glued together like popsicle sticks.

After a few minutes in the forest, they approached the lonesome house, which, as Kyle observed, did _not_ have a fence protecting the backyard. Instead, the yard was an open clearing, littered with small piles of neatly chopped firewood and a neglected grill. 

The two tucked themselves behind a particularly wide tree trunk at the edge of the forest, finding unstable footing on the overgrown roots.

“That window—“ Kenny pointed at a high window at the back of the house. “It was in the background of that picture, the one Wendy sent. You remember, right?”

Kyle picked at the tree bark, his mind deep in thought. He distantly nodded, scratching off a piece of crumbling bark.

“Let’s make a run for it,” Kenny daringly insisted, an excited grin across his face. He ushered Kyle out from behind the tree, hand on his back, thrusting him forward as they bounded across the stretch of snow-frosted grass. They ungraciously slammed into the house after losing the ability to properly stop, with no help from the slippery frost. The collision drew Kyle from his thoughts, and he blinked as he laid against the house, squatting down on the ground.

Kenny crouched beside him, eyeing the window that was placed a few inches away. He turned to face Kyle with an indistinguishable expression.

“If she’s not here... This will all have been for nothing, you know,” He said with uncharacteristic seriousness. “We would have gone through all this bullshit for nothing.”

Turmoil stirred inside Kyle. If Karen wasn’t here, he would have to lie in the borderline bottomless grave he had dug himself. Stan would denounce him radically and Eric would laugh in his face, and he’d get the beating of a lifetime from his mother, all for _nothing_.

He let out a shaky breath, wringing his hands. “Let’s just check and see.”

Kenny hesitantly rose to his feet, walked over to the window, and peered inside. Even as tall as he was, he barely managed to clear his shoulders over the windowsill. Kyle watched him, first cautiously checking inside, then pressing his hands against the glass and staring intensely like a kid ogling the inhabitants of a fish tank.

“Well?” Kyle implied.

“It’s her room.” Kenny refused to tear his eyes away. “There’s, like, a small bed over here by the window, and a desk like in the picture on that wall. Door’s over there, there’s some empty shopping bags on the floor and— Oh shit, look.”

Kenny gestured for Kyle to join him, which he did. Kyle nudged Kenny over, eyes darting all over the room, but fixating on the door in the corner, where Karen’s name was spelled in tacky foam block letters.

“What the fuck? It’s not even the first week, and she’s already got her name on the room?” Kenny criticized.

“They probably took her out to buy things, that would explain the bags.” Kyle examined the desk against the rightmost wall. It was mostly bare, except for a pencil cup and a small notebook, still open, covered in barely discernible little handwriting. “Do you think they put her in a new school already?”

“Hell if I know.”

Just then, as Kyle recognized the scrawl on the notebook to be several examples of dividing fractions, the door handle rattled. As it creaked open, Kenny and Kyle ducked below the window, plastered to the outer wall like flies, unsure if the person entering the room was who they were hoping for.

Kenny made eye contact with Kyle, exchanging a silent look of knowing, before the two slowly crept up the wall and spied over the window.

Karen, expressionless, called out to someone beyond the door and closed it, peeling off her coat and throwing it on the back of the chair that had been pushed under the desk. She presented how she did in the picture. Her hair was smoothed down and her clothes were bright and clean. 

Certainly _not_ in any danger.

Kyle pondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but let out a great sigh of relief nonetheless. 

Kenny shot up, standing on his tippy-toes and immediately pounding on the glass.

“_Karen_! Karen, it’s me!” He shouted, desperately clawing at the window. 

Karen jumped, rightfully startled, and withdrawing from the unknown figure banging on her window.

Kenny pulled back his hood, slamming his hands against the window. “It’s me, Karen!” He hollered. Kyle feared someone else inside the house would hear and check outside, but Kenny continued to pound on the window and call out for his sister.

Kyle saw the look on Karen’s face as she recognized her brother. Her eyes widened in disbelief and shock. She muttered something, muffled and inaudible through the glass, before running up onto her bed and aligning her small hands with Kenny’s on the window. He stammered, unable to find the right words and only laughing with pure joy, something Kyle found interesting to witness. Karen similarly lit up at the sight of such a pleasant surprise. Tearing her hands away, she unlocked the window, throwing it open. 

Kenny reached out to touch her hands, squeezing them, authenticating that she was real. “_Karen_!” He beamed, extending his arms to hug her. Karen bowed down and wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him the best she could without falling out of the window.

Kyle admired the tender moment. For once, he could read Kenny’s overwhelmed expression like a book.

If this was what they had come all this way for, it would be worth it, right?

After a long moment, Karen pulled away from the emotional embrace and examined Kenny as Kenny looked over her. 

“How did you find me?” Her eyes settled upon Kyle with surprise. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to rescue you,” Kenny explained, holding Karen by the shoulders. “We tracked you down, it’s sort of complicated, but the important thing is that we’re here to take you home.”

Karen nervously held Kenny’s arms. “What..?”

“I’m _so_ sorry, Karen,” Kenny hurriedly apologized, words flying from his mouth like he’d been keeping them, waiting for the opportune time to set them free. “I wasn’t there for you, when the cops showed up and all that, when they came... I ran away like a coward. Some brother I am, right? Jesus, I—“

“_Kenny_,” Karen pulled his hands from her shoulders and held them. “What’s going on? How did you guys get here?”

“We drove,” Kyle monotonously added. “_I_ drove, all the way from South Park.”

Karen looked at her brother for confirmation. “You s-seriously came all the way here?”

Kenny nodded. “Hell yeah we did, for you! We came to bring you back to South Park.”

“South Park?”

“Duh. That’s kinda where we live,” Kenny casually laughed. “We came to bring you back home.”

Karen’s petite face wrinkled in confusion. “Back... home?”

Kenny nodded, tugging on Karen’s hands. “It’s a long ass story, I’ll tell you on the drive back, but basically—“

“—This... _is_ my home, Kenny,” Karen peeled away Kenny’s hands and pulled away from the window, shifting on the bed almost uncomfortably.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted.

Kenny hesitated, eyes nervously looking around, forcing out a weak laugh. “... _What?_”

“I live _here_ now,” Karen elaborated, making a grand gesture to symbolize the entire house. “With my new parents. Their names are Kate and Joe.” Her voice shrunk. “And Dougie.”

Kenny cringed. “I don’t... understand.”

“Th-They’re my new foster family.” Karen pressed her index fingers together, shamefully looking down. “I’ve only been here a few days, but they’re really nice. They take me places. Kate took me to the store on my second day here, and Dougie took me to get doughnuts yesterday.”

Kyle watched as Karen went on and as Kenny’s expression morphed into  confusion, then deeper and deeper disappointment.

“Karen,” He sternly said. “You know they’re not your _real_ family.”

“I know, but—“

“I’m your real family. I’m your real brother. Your _only_ brother,” Kenny insisted, attempting to stretch taller to lean into the window. “Wouldn’t you rather be in South Park, with your friends?”

“I don’t have friends there... The kids call me names and push me around. Don’t you remember?” Karen appeared hopeful soon after reminding herself of painful memories. “I have new friends here! There’s a girl all the way down the road, and she rode her bike over to say hi when I first came. She’s really funny and cool, and she says she’ll show me around once I start school next year.”

Kenny shook his head. “There won’t be a ‘next year.’ We’re going home.”

Karen frowned. “_This_ is my home now.”

“Your home is with family.”

“This is my family now!”

Kenny stared at his sister, bewildered. Karen looked at him and Kyle with big, guilty eyes. An apology rested on the tip of her tongue, but she stared down and said nothing.

Kenny spoke in a wavering voice. “We came... to rescue you.”

“I don’t need rescuing, Kenny. Where’d you get that idea?” Karen wore a stoic look upon her face. “I’m happy, _here_. These people treat me like...”

Kenny gripped the windowsill, his knuckles turning white. “Like what?”

Karen retreated further away from the window. “Like a mature person,” She finished, meeting Kenny’s distraught eyes.

“They don’t treat me like I’m still a _baby_.”

Kyle watched as Kenny pursed his lips, considering what to say next. He opened his mouth to speak, but Karen was pushing the window closed, to his mortification. She abruptly shut the window with a slam, locking it as Kenny tried to pry it open.

Karen leaned in close to the window. “You... should go, before Doug comes home,” She regretfully suggested, her forehead resting against the glass. “I don’t want you to go, Kenny...”

“Then come with us!” Kenny slapped the window, begging Karen to face him. “We brought a car, we can be out of here before anyone notices—“

“But I can’t. I live here now. And you can’t stay here...” Karen struggled to make herself heard. Kyle caught a glimpse of her wiping her cheek.

“You can’t do this, Karen. What are you talking about? I’m your guardian angel, remember? Remember all that?” Kenny tapped on the glass just below Karen’s hanging head. “That matters, doesn’t it? I want us to stay together, like we’re supposed to. I’m your brother, I’m...”

Karen’s quiet sobs broke through the glass barrier. Kenny’s voice faltered as he listened.

“Karen...” He whispered, barely more than a breath. Karen remained unresponsive, her shoulders jerking with each hiccup or choked cry.

Kyle disdainfully looked on, touching Kenny’s sleeve and tugging. “We should go, someone’ll come out here sooner or later.”

Kenny surprisingly ignored him, which was the preferred reaction as opposed to something more aggressive. He lingered, fingers on the glass, quietly pleading for Karen to come with him.

Kyle couldn’t bear witness anymore. Kenny was pathetic, and he _hated_ it. He thought of him, in the middle of the night, crying into his shoulder. This was...

_Unfair_.

Something ticked Kyle off. He didn’t quite know if Kenny being an emotional wreck at times could justify his vacillating outbursts.

He kept it to himself for now.

“Let’s _go_,” He urged, seizing his arm and forcing him away from the window. He heard Kenny mumble something, presumably a goodbye, before he succumbed and retreated with Kyle back into the safety of the forest.

Kyle shoved Kenny in front of him, propelling him forward in an effort to prevent him from looking back.

He carried the heavy weight of crippling disappointment for the both of them.

Kyle continued to drive him forward, much deeper into the forest than they had previously gone, until he tired himself out. They stood in silence. Kenny sulked against a tree and covered his face with his arms.

“Can you believe that?” He strained to speak.

Kyle shrugged. “No, honestly.”

“Why didn’t she just come? She’s known these people for what, 5 days, tops?” Kenny threw his hands up in an exaggerated gesture. “I mean, she chose these strangers over _me_. Her _brother_.”

Kyle sighed, exhausted. He propped himself against a nearby tree as Kenny continued to ramble.

Accompanying the frustration and disappointment, Kyle felt a surprising amount of relief. He was _glad_ Karen had refused to come. That would have been a case. Definitely not worth Kenny’s happiness.

_Definitely not._

Kyle grit his teeth, throwing his hands over his face with a groan. Kenny stopped his rhetoric.

“Are... you okay?” He asked.

Kyle almost laughed. “I’m fine,” He responded, festering. “Can we go back to the car?”

“Sure.”

They walked the slightly longer hike back in silence, a small but notable distance away from each other. They entered the car in silence. For once, Kyle was thankful for the silence. At least for now.

He couldn’t drive another two whole hours like this, though.

They’d have to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda long break between chapters. school is the main reason. I also got braces and they hurt like a motherfucker so I’ve been taking it easy, but I’ve been itching to write more of these boys so I’m sticking through it uwu
> 
> hope u enjoyed!
> 
> \- jamie


	10. Homestretch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah hello its an update, finally. warning: stupid angst ig and poorly written handjob ahead uwu
> 
> pls read the end notes! ty

  
  


“Well,” Kenny sunk into his seat. “What now?”

Kyle still gripped the wheel, drumming his fingers, staring at the blank wall in front of him.

“We go home,” He flatly said.

Kenny withdrew into his sweater, almost repulsed by the thought of returning to South Park empty handed. He looked at Kyle, who offered nothing but an unbothered, empty expression. 

“_Seriously_?” Kenny choked out.

“What else is there to do?” Kyle muttered bitterly. “We went and we saw. She’s fine.”

“So, what? We’re just going to give up?” Kenny waved his hand in front of Kyle’s spiritless face. “After all this?”

He hesitantly removed Kyle’s hand from the wheel and squeezed it, fingers sliding into place. “After everything _we’ve_ done?”

Kyle felt his will quiver like a leaf in the wind. He couldn’t find the strength to repeal his hand, neither squeeze back. His arm was limp and detached, not his anymore.

He bit the soft inside of his cheek. “Yeah. After everything we’ve done.”

“You know we’re going to be in trouble once we get back—” Kenny started.

Oh yes, Kyle knew very well.

“—And you’re going to have to come clean. About everything.”

Kyle made a confused face at the wall. “Who said anything about coming clean?”

“Me.” Kenny shifted in his seat, unbuckling his previously fastened seatbelt and turning his body to face Kyle. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

_How selfless_, Kyle spitefully thought. “I’m getting in trouble no matter what,” He spat.

A tense pause, during which Kenny released Kyle’s hand. He remained unmoving on the armrest.

“Then, I’ll come clean.” Kenny shrugged, sitting back and stuffing his pockets with his fists. “About everything. The plan, all of it. I’ll tell everyone it was my idea. That I made you come. Like, uh, a hostage.”

Kyle scoffed, rolling his eyes. “That’s fucking stupid.”

“It’s better than the cops thinking you were involved because you wanted to do this too,” Kenny insisted, adamantly leaning forward over the armrest and explaining to Kyle. “I’ll probably go to jail, now that I think about it...”

Kyle flinched. _Quit overreacting._

“... because attempted kidnapping and all that. They’ll probably go and question Karen.“

“She wouldn’t rat you out,” Kyle assured.

“Still. It’s a felony, right?” He spoke casually, flippant and laughing though the words, like it was a joke. “I dunno, but I have to tell them, and I’m technically an adult, so they’ll probably charge me—“

“_Kenny_.”

“—and I could never pay for a real lawyer, not like I’d want one anyways.“

“You don’t need to ‘confess’, it’s really pointless.”

“If I get lucky, maybe they’ll just stick me in juvie. God, I hate that shithole—”

Kyle turned, finally prying his eyes away from the wall and touching Kenny’s arm. “_Stop it_. You don’t have to tell anyone anything,” He commanded. “We just ran away from home, like stupid teenagers. That can be our story. Nobody is going to snitch on us, so what’s the point in incriminating yourself?”

Kenny listened, digesting Kyle’s words with a thoughtful expression. Kyle thought he had broken through his persistence, before a incredulous smile appeared on his face.

“I know all that, I wasn’t going to,” He teased. “I was just sick of you looking at the damn wall.”

Kyle didn’t find it as funny. He jerked his hand away, only to be grabbed by Kenny and pulled back. “But, that was a good idea,” He appeased. “The running away story. Sounds legit enough, right?”

He placed Kyle’s hand on his cheek. Kyle begrudgingly allowed him to do so. His skin was cold and battered by the wind. 

Kenny looked up thoughtfully, piecing together their story. “We ran away... because we were afraid that nobody would accept us, for being in _love_.”

“Jesus Christ,” Kyle pushed Kenny’s face away, deadpanned as Kenny laughed childishly. “You sound like Cartman.”

“Come on, it’s believable, right?” Kenny grinned, eagerly patting the armrest like a drum.

_Guess you’re back to normal, _Kyle thought.

“_Fuck no_. I’m not letting you drag me into that. We just ran away because you didn’t want to go into foster care. Can that be the story?” Kyle pleaded, back against the car door as he avoided Kenny reaching for his hand.

“I like the love idea better,” Kenny charmed, walking his fingers along the armrest.

Kyle rolled his eyes and looked out the window. He saw the dumpster at the side of the building, decorated with trash. He remembered sharing the same anger and frustration he felt now with the Kyle who had stood in the cold, hands sticky with sugar, burning with confusion and indignation.

_You’re so fucking cryptic all the time. _

The chime of the bell, the crunching of snow, the passing of drinks, the exchanging of words. Kyle recalled his grudge melting away, the frustration of not understanding being replaced by a new inclination.

Kyle blinked, and he was back in the car, staring longingly out the window. He was numb, the only indicator that he was still inhabiting his body was the gentle touch of Kenny’s thumb on his hand.

It was the little things. The small touches, the trusting pleas, the acts of kindness he could decode. Kyle supposed they compensated for the other, bigger things. The _worse_ things. The words that ate him up inside in the worst way possible.

He wished that they balanced out, but even then...

“Why do you treat me like shit?”

Kenny stopped what he was doing, which was then meticulously tracing the lines in Kyle’s palm. 

“Why do I... treat you like shit?” He repeated.

“Do you think I _like_ it when you storm off, or when you say shit like, ‘_oh, you don’t care about me enough_,’ when I’ve been doing _everything_ for you?” Kyle remained fixated on the window, staring at nothing, understanding nothing except the loaded words that fired out of his mouth. “Without me, you probably _would_ be in jail right now. You know why I kept supporting you even when I knew this was a bad idea?”

Kenny’s eyes surveyed the car, as if he was looking for answers to a question he very well knew the answer to. “Because... you care about me.”

“Yeah,” Kyle muttered. “It’s fucking unfair.”

The atmosphere turned damp. Kenny looked like he had tasted something sour. “I’m sorry,” He said, the words easily slipping out. 

_It’s easy to say,_ Kyle analyzed_, because he knows I’m a hundred percent right. _He anticipated the swell of pride or satisfaction, but it didn’t come. What followed was only the plunging of his heart down into his gut. And loathing. 

He made a repulsed face and pressed against the car door, forcing himself as far away from Kenny as possible. “Don’t be pathetic,” He condemned.

“I’m trying to help,” Kenny insisted.

“You’re not. You just sound like a wreck,” Kyle said bluntly.

Kenny twitched. “First, I’m too mean, and when I try to be nice, I’m pathetic,” He said, leaning against his own door and bringing his feet up onto the seat. “I’m sorry _you_ can’t handle my emotions.”

“Being a dick to me isn’t an emotion.”

“I said I was sorry for that!” Kenny exasperated. 

“You have no reason to take your anger out on me.” Kyle chewed on his fingernails. Talking with Kenny was like talking to a brick wall. His fingers itched to thrust the car in drive and leave this purgatory without another word. That, or crash straight into the wall ahead.

_No, quit exaggerating, _Kyle told himself.

“It was an emotional situation,” Kenny continued. “Did you expect me to be perfectly calm?”

He didn’t even fully comprehend what Kenny was saying, only the way _he_ felt and what _he_ wanted to say. “That doesn’t justify shit.”

“Yes it does! I wasn’t thinking—“

Kyle tore through his nail and boiled over, turning and slamming his hands on the armrest. “Clearly not. Were you seriously _that_ blind with rage?”

Kenny flinched. “No, I just—“

“We were talking about you smoking cigarettes for fuck’s sake!” Kyle shouted, wracking the entire car. “_That_ was an emotional moment for you?”

“_You_,” Kenny emphasized, shifting from his defensive position curled against the door. “You said I was endangering Karen, like— like some sort of _monster_!”

“You _were_!” Kyle’s voice fractured.

“Yeah, and I got angry about that!” Kenny defended.

Kyle thought he felt the thrill, the thrill of obtaining the edge. “_Because I was right_?” He asked, a caustic, disbelieving grin across his face.

“Because I didn’t even think I was hurting her!”

Kyle blinked. That was an odd way of saying yes. The thrill disintegrated like dust.

Kenny looked down at the armrest, almost shamefully. “I didn’t want to hear that, I guess. Maybe because you were right, but mostly because I just didn’t _know_. Or I just—“ He rolled his eyes in a self-deprecating way, “—didn’t give enough of a shit.”

Kyle searched for the feeling of victory as Kenny continued. “When you told me that, I got so mad, dude. It was like, _why didn’t I think of that before_?”

He digressed, his words skewing together as he hurried to get them out. “And all that stuff you said right now, all of that made so fucking angry.”

“Why?” Kyle asked after deciding that there was no victory to be gained. Not from this, while he felt so hollow.

“Because I didn’t know I was hurting _you_ too.” 

Kyle felt like he’d just been tripped and fell right into the pavement, but Kenny quickly disregarded his statement before either of them had time to realize the weight of his words. “So, I wasn’t thinking clearly. So you can’t blame me for being angry...”

Kyle just as easily shrugged off whatever meaning Kenny’s words had and continued to seethe. “It’s not my job to understand when you’re not thinking clearly.”

“Kyle,” Kenny said in a different tone, looking him in the eye. “Don’t you care about me?”

“I just said I did. That’s the entire reason we’re here,” Kyle reminded. “Don’t you care about _me_?” 

“Of course!”

“But, I’m still supposed to understand when you get mad and lash out and make me feel like shit?”

In some way, it was interesting to watch Kenny become more and more frustrated with each counteractive statement Kyle made. 

_Not so fun, is it?_ He subconsciously snapped.

“I just...” Kenny stammered, searching for the right words. “Can you remember that I don’t do that because I’m actually angry?”

Kyle crossed his arms contemptuously. “Kinda hard when you’ve already made me feel like shit,” he spat.

Kyle could see he must’ve finally struck a nerve, from the way Kenny frowned and took a moment to grasp exactly what Kyle was saying.

“I don’t lash out to make you feel like that though. I wouldn’t, dude.” There was a certain level of sincerity to his voice that Kyle hadn’t heard before. “Can’t you _try_ to understand where I’m coming from?” He pleaded.

Kyle stubbornly responded. “Can’t you try to understand where _I’m_ coming from? How am I supposed to discern between when you’re actually mad at me and when you’re just emotional and angry?”

“I’m never mad at you!” Kenny insisted, finally snapping and raising his voice above Kyle’s. “Not like, for real mad. You just piss me off, but I could never be mad at you!”

That sounded familiar.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed in on Kenny’s, threatening and challenging. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He roared.

“I care about you!” Kenny pronounced.

“I care about _you_!”

Kyle persisted, finding himself face to face with Kenny, both of them leaning over the armrest as if they were battling for it as territory. Kenny snarled like a bull, intimidating in a way Kyle couldn’t quite describe. Even so, it was short lived. Kyle raged, shouted something intelligible, kicked open the car door, and slipped into the back seat.

“I don’t want to be around you,” He bluntly announced.

“Whatever.” Kenny didn’t protest, so they sat quietly. After a few minutes in the back, Kyle regretted his decision. From the back seat, he couldn’t read Kenny from his expressions alone, but he stayed put anyways.

_At least he’s not feeling sorry for himself anymore_, Kyle thought, which he was grateful for. He much preferred Kenny shouting in his face than wallowing in self-pity.

The passenger side door opened, surprising Kyle out of his thoughts, then slammed shut. The back door opened and Kyle watched as Kenny wordlessly sat down next to him. Kyle analyzed him again to find him not as red in the face, but still visibly frustrated.

Kyle expected him to apologize again, but he didn’t. Instead, he groaned and covered his face in his hands.

“Can we just—I don’t know—forget about this and move on?” He muttered into his hands.

“What do you mean?” Kyle prodded. 

“_Everything_,” Kenny clarified. “_This_ is all too much trouble than it was ever worth...”

_This is... _Kyle’s heart rotted from the inside out. _Retribution?_

Remorse suddenly filled him for everything that he’d so _selfishly_ remarked. It must’ve shown, too, despite how he tried to keep his composure as his heart was pulverized in a single phrase.

_Well, it was going to catch up with you eventually, dipshit._

Stubborn as ever, Kyle lightly hit Kenny’s arm with the back of his hand. “You’re not serious, right? What do you mean, everything? Are you talking about us?”

“What _us_?”

“You’re—“ Kyle swallowed his bile. “You’re fucking with me. Now you’re fucking with me.”

Kenny sighed, leaning foreword and resting his head on the back of the passenger seat. He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking his time to respond while Kyle cracked with each passing second.

“_Kyle_,” Kenny said under his breath, almost disappointingly. 

Before the crippling devastation could seize Kyle and engulf him, Kenny turned to face him, a familiarly tired look on his face.

He rolled his eyes. “I really shoulda just ran with that one, huh?”

Kyle blinked. “What?”

“Yeah, that one was too mean.” Kenny cracked a smile and sat up straight. “Don’t look at me like that, dude.”

The cogs in Kyle’s mind whirred and strained as his mouth struggled to form a response. “Wh... What?”

“Wuh-wuh-what?” Kenny mocked, turning and sitting cross-legged. 

It was his stupid, shit-eating grin that Kyle recognized. All the energy to scream had been drained out of him from the altercation prior. He could only gnash his teeth behind his lips and wipe his sweating face.

“I hate you,” he said, genuinely. He wiped his face, but also made sure the tears that had just threatened his eyes weren’t there anymore. “I can’t fucking stand you sometimes.”

“Don’t be pissed, it was a joke. You were being a little bitch.” Kenny shrugged.

“Well, now I’m a big bitch,” Kyle indignantly grumbled through clenched teeth, voice cracking. “Fucking asshole, I swear to god...”

His eyes burned with tears and he was quick to throw his sleeve over his face again, rubbing his palms against his eyes, effectively making them more red and more apparent that he was on the cusp of bawling. He huffed and pulled his hat over his eyes for good measure.

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

Kyle felt the weight of the car seat shift and Kenny’s arms finding their way around his waist. His head rested on his chest, and he knew that Kenny was probably embracing him in the most elongated and awkwardly placed way, stretched across the entire back seat.

Kyle willed himself not to break.

“Jesus, your heart’s fucking racing,” Kenny commented, pressing his head closer against Kyle’s chest. “Did I do that?”

“Yes, Steve-fucking-Urkle, you did,” Kyle admitted.

He could sense Kenny’s playful smile. “‘Cause I made you cry?”

“No.”

“Because I was angry at you?”

Kyle bit the inside of his cheek and remembered, lingering on the memory and the exact look in Kenny’s eyes.

Kenny shrugged and looked up. “Well, you were angry at me too, so—“ He stopped himself, a grin spreading across his face.

He reached up and touched Kyle’s cheek. “What’s up with you?”

“What?” Kyle attempted to sound casual. He pulled his hat down further over his eyes.

Kenny sat up and shuffled in front of him, placing his calloused palms on his face.

Kyle grimaced. “What is it?”

“Your face is red as fuck. You were crying, huh?” Kenny tugged Kyle’s hat off, clutching it in his fists, only to find that Kyle’s eyes weren’t the slightest bit red or distressed. Not anymore, at least.

“You weren’t?” He asked.

Kyle didn’t want to admit he was just on the verge of tears. He shook his head. “No, why would I? Just give me that back.”

Kenny threw the hat to the front seat, out of sight. “Why’d you look so embarrassed just now, huh?” He jeered, prodding Kyle in the side. “Crybaby?”

Kyle swatted him away. “Get off me,” he hissed, shoving Kenny away with his foot.

As if acting upon instinct, Kenny swiftly seized his leg, and Kyle felt a fleeting sense of panic. Kenny jerked his leg back and he slid down the car seat, stuck in a half-lying half-sitting position after striking his head on the door ledge.

“_Augh_— What the fuck?” Kyle snapped, rubbing the back of his head. He tried to get a hold of the seat under him and prop himself up, but there was something—some_one_—sandwiching him to the seat.

“Get off, retard.”

Kenny hovered above him, casting a shadow which covered Kyle’s wound-up face. “Why’re you so bitchy all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean? Did we not just get over screaming at each other?” Kyle sulked further down the seat, trying to maneuver his way out from under Kenny. The back seat didn’t offer any space to escape, so he laid, legs bent against the opposing door. His shoes smudged and squeaked against the window. A compromising position, packed like a sardine between Kenny’s hands and knees.

Kenny rolled his eyes. He sat on Kyle’s legs, his head bumping against the roof of the car. He placed a curious hand on Kyle’s chest. “Your heart’s literally beating a mile a minute. You’re _still_ hung up on that? Jesus Christ...”

“Yeah, I am, because you were being an insensitive asshole!” Kyle tried to sit up, despite Kenny’s weight on his legs restricting his movement.

“_I’m_ the insensitive one? You didn’t even try to understand what I was saying!” Kenny rehashed. 

“You literally said you wanted to forget about us.” The only thing that prevented Kyle from socking Kenny in the nose was his weight on his legs, partially immobilizing him. He grit his teeth, wriggling his legs and bending them with all his strength, finally pestering Kenny enough to knee him off, forcing him back to the position he was in before; domineering over Kyle.

“_Ouch_— Ugh, it was a joke!” Kenny persisted. 

“It wasn’t funny.”

“I only said it because you were being all pissy.”

“Me? You’re the one who started it in the first place!” Kyle felt the urge to cross his arms in an indignant gesture, but his arms were glued to his sides. There was hardly enough space on the back seat for him and Kenny’s arms.

“You’re the one who started it! You started the whole thing!” Kenny laughed incredulously. “I’m not doing this again, not with your stubborn ass.”

“_You’re_ the stubborn one!”

Kenny rolled his eyes, amused. “Nice one, smartass,” He caustically said. “What the fuck is your problem? I tried to explain and apologize before, didn’t I? Do you like to argue with me?”

“No,” Kyle asserted.

“Then why’re you being such a prick?” Kenny berated, adding in a half-joking manner, “Does this shit turn you on or something?”

Kyle reached for his hat, but it wasn’t there. He awkwardly tangled his hands in his hair, stammering for a moment. “No... W-What the fuck? No—“

“Oh _yeah_? Why’d you think about it first?” Kenny pressed mockingly. 

“Because you’re badgering me, dickhead,” Kyle barked, pushing Kenny away when he persistently leaned forward. 

“You like to make me angry, don’t you? Because you’re a stubborn asshole, right?” Kenny exhorted, speaking in an unusually low voice. “Am I right?”

Kyle didn’t know what to say. Kenny was most likely just being hostile for the sake of their argument, but he didn’t like how blatantly on-the-nose he was. Was it written all over Kyle’s face, or was this just a tactic to piss him off even more?

Finally, Kyle shouted. “So what if I do?”

It was supposed to be sarcastic, but it was more of a confession than a provoking, rhetorical statement.

Kenny was momentarily caught off guard. “What?”

“If I’m a stubborn asshole, so what? I don’t care,” Kyle pronounced, rolling his eyes as if to seem as if he wasn’t completely unaware of what he was saying. “Yeah, you’re right, i-it’s hot, or whatever you said—“   
  
It was getting pretty heated in the car, metaphorically and physically, despite the cold temperature outside. Maybe it was heat stroke that was making Kyle speak with little regard for what he was actually confessing, if that was even possible.

“It’s _hot?_” Kenny repeated, connecting the proverbial dots in his head.

Kyle didn’t say another word. He didn’t even know what he was saying in the first place. Anything else that would have come out of his mouth would have just lead to more disarray. He only shifted uncomfortably, fully embarrassed—or repulsed—or confused by himself.

After a moment of analysis, Kenny abruptly broke into hysterics. He finally moved back and ran a hand through his hair, frazzled from the humidity. “So, you’ve been pissing me off on purpose, because you thought it was hot?”

Kyle was forced back to his senses. “No, my arguments were valid, I was always proving my point,” He insisted, crossing his arms now that they weren’t so compressed. “Not just because it’s hot, or whatever the fuck...”

“But that’s part of it, right?” Kenny pressed.

His newfound giddiness encouraged Kyle to profess more than his intimidation did. “Fuck— I-I guess..? I didn’t really mean that, anyways. It was a joke—“

“No it wasn’t, you _weirdo_,” Kenny cackled, adding to Kyle’s embarrassment. “Just kidding, I’m kidding. But you’re not, right?” He said with a cackle.

Amidst his intense humiliation, Kyle felt Kenny place his hand on his thigh. An otherwise unnoticeable gesture suddenly set him off now, causing him to flinch and swat him away.

“Don’t— Jesus, nevermind. Would you get off me now?” Kyle tried wriggle out from under Kenny’s weight.

“What is it?” Kenny asked. He placed his hand where it was before, back on his thigh. “What’s your problem now?”

Kyle flushed, throwing his arms over his face. “Nothing, okay? Quit f-fucking saying that. I’m fine, except for the fact that I can’t fucking m-move.”

Kenny noticed that Kyle was very obviously _not_ fine. “That’s funny,” he said in a suspicious tone. “You swear a lot more when you’re _nervous_.”

Kyle was ready to retort, but his mouth snapped shut as Kenny slid his hand up his thigh.

“Oh, so _now_ you’re gonna shut up?” Kenny inched his hand farther up Kyle’s leg, making the latter grimace uncertainly.

_God, you’re fucking in for it. You’re so full of shit, you stupid little asshole. This is exactly what you wanted, right? You’re in so much shit, fucking loud mouth—_

Kyle caught his breath, swallowing and then unsteadily exhaling. “Fuck— let’s j-just, forget about this and go home, before it gets dark,” He pleaded, tearing his arms away from his face.

“So now you want to forget about it?” Kenny leered over and pulled Kyle’s hair out of his face, looking into him, unobstructed. “But you’ve already told me _so_ much.”

The look they exchanged was undeniable, and it filled Kyle with anticipation. 

Kenny carelessly touched his hip, then the crook of his thigh. Kyle’s jeans grew increasingly restrictive, only contributing to his dwindling self-restraint. “Jeez, you know this is my dad’s car, right?” He mentioned, knowing full well any attempts at stalling were futile. 

“Yeah,” Kenny’s nimble fingers fumbled with the clasp on Kyle’s jeans, right against his growing erection. “Perfect place to make memories, right?”

“Don’t fucking s-say it like that.“ Kyle masked whatever sounds escaped him with seemingly frustrated groans. “Fucking Christ, my parents have probably done it back here—“

“Just think of it as a... family tradition.” Kenny grinned, unfastening his pants. Kyle sighed, relived for a short moment before Kenny abruptly and unceremoniously shoved his hand down his boxers.

Kyle yelped in surprise. It came out as a strangled gasp. “Fuck—! Wh-What the hell—“

“Yikes. Did I catch you off guard?” Kenny casually asked, flashing a mischievous smile. 

He snickered as Kyle flushed a deep red. “_Yeah_, kinda,” He caustically said. “Since you insist on rushing w-whatever this is, impatient fuck—“

It was almost ironic. If it were him making the reckless moves, Kyle would be criticizing himself for the same thing. He was the real impatient one, only bound by his crippling fear of fucking everything over by doing the wrong thing. It was for the best that Kenny was so forward, as much as Kyle hated to admit it.

“Here, here,” Kenny retracted his hand, standing on his knees to allow Kyle a window of movement. His head was uncomfortably crooked after hitting the roof. He gestured for Kyle to sit up partially against the door like he had been before he was bluntly yanked down. Kyle begrudgingly moved to where Kenny shifted him, one leg crooked against the opposing door, laid across the back seat, and the other falling off the edge. 

Kenny sat intimately close to him, one leg pulled inwards like they were crossed, and the other left off the seat. Their dirt covered shoes touched and scuffed each other.

Somehow, this was better and worse, Kyle thought. He was still posed between Kenny and an immovable support, but it felt closer. He could see Kenny clearly, without his hair falling over his eyes or shadows shrouding his face. His unpredictability filled Kyle with a certain thrill to accompany his already prevalent discomfiture.

Kenny’s piercing eyes bore into his own, excited and aloof, as his hand wandered along Kyle’s thighs again. The latter turned his cheek and ran a fidgety hand though his hair. He could feel his temperature rise just as Kenny did.

“You’re sweating—“ Kenny slipped his hand into Kyle’s boxers, grinning as he wrapped his hand around his cock.

Kyle shuddered and inhaled suddenly. Kenny’s hands were unusually warm. His entire body was radiating that same, comforting warmth. “Jesus f-fucking Christ, I know,” he hissed, his throat tightening.

His face screwed with frustration, but his arm haphazardly draped across Kenny’s shoulder, solidifying that they were very loosely holding each other. 

“Yikes, you really do swear a lot more when you’re nervous,” Kenny simply said. His hand expertly moved along Kyle’s dick, starting cautiously and slowly like he knew exactly what he doing. “Cursin’ like a sailor.”

“Ah— Fuck, I mean—“ Kyle abruptly moaned into his own shoulder, pressing his face into the car seat. “F-Fuck you, like you don’t.”

“I’m not the one getting off in the back of a car,” Kenny said, leaning close and resting his forehead against the car window, completely covering Kyle with his body. 

Now, they were intimately pressed together. Kyle could feel Kenny’s shallow breath on the back of his neck. Every exhale made him shiver along with every jerk of his hand. He felt the overwhelming inclination to grasp onto him, pulling him even closer, but his awkwardly placed limbs refused to move. 

With every skillfully placed movement of his hand, Kenny drew out more unsuccessfully suppressed sounds out of Kyle. What was even worse, Kyle thought, was that he was obviously getting the biggest kick out of it. He could visualize the way his frozen eyes lit up when Kyle gasped or groaned into the crook of his neck. All the more reason why he was so embarrassed.

Kenny moved away from the door. Purposely, Kyle concluded, because now he couldn’t comfortably hide away in his shoulder. His flushed face was uncovered and his moans were unobstructed, and he could see Kenny’s wolfish grin. Yeah, that was what he wanted.

And now, Kyle couldn’t mask that this was exactly what he wanted too. He subtly smiled at the thought, which Kenny caught onto quickly.

“What?” He laughed, intentionally quickening the pace of his busy hand.

“Nothing,” He forced out, still abashedly trying to conceal himself by turning away, before meeting Kenny’s invasive stare. “It’s just—_hah, _er—I’ve though ab-bout this before and—_fuck_—and it’s always been dif-fferent in my _hhh_-head,” he shamefully admitted.

_No use in hiding anything now, I guess,_ he thought, wrapping both of his arms around Kenny’s neck.

“You’ve thought about this?” Kenny prodded, intrigued. He moved his hand more carefully, stroking him in just the right way to extract a confession.

“Er, yeah, k-kind of. It’s always, always been different though. N-Never in a car—_ah_,” Kyle admitted. “And it’s always been the _sss_-same you.”

Kyle touched Kenny’s face and felt that it was warm with a subtle blush. The other boy nudged his hand away, shaking his head with a disregarding laugh. “You’re gross,” He muttered. He leaned in and allowed their lips to touch, but not fully kissing him. Just touching, all the while he thumbed the tip of the other boy’s cock.

“You’re the—_fffuck_, fucking g-gross one.” Kyle squirmed, glowing with sweat. His heart continued to pound out of his chest, especially now that Kenny was up in his face, only occasionally indulging him with a small kiss. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice when Kenny briefly removed his hand and brought it up to his mouth.

“Quit messing around,” Kyle forced out, his impatience fronting for a second, “J-Just—“

He gasped in surprise as Kenny laid his left hand on his side and resumed impatiently jerking him off, now with a colder, saliva-slicked hand. The added wetness set him just over the edge. His nails dug into the back of Kenny’s neck as he absentmindedly moaned and pleaded against his lips.

“Fuck, K-Ken— I-I,_ ah_—“ His warnings were smothered by Kenny’s lips smashing against his, purposely muting Kyle just when he needed to get the words out.

Kenny returned to his steady, quick pace, just to make sure he had a bit more time for what he wanted to say. He pulled away from Kyle’s lips for a moment. “I told you this would be exciting,” He recalled, flashing his teeth in an endearingly wolfish smile.

“Y-Yeah,” Kyle replied in an embarrassing, wavering tone, desperately reuniting their lips, not even processing the comment, only agreeing, because _of course_ Kenny was right about whatever he was referring to, because this _felt_ so right. This was exactly what he wanted. It was right,_ this_ was right. 

“I-I’m—“

“Shut up. Christ, didn’t anyone ever tell you you’re not really supposed to talk during this kind of shit?” 

Kyle’s lips curled in a quivering smile. 

Yeah, this was right—

In a fit of blind passion, Kyle unapologetically pushed his tongue into his mouth, grasping onto Kenny and letting out a strangled moan into their heated kiss as he abruptly released into his hand and onto his own stomach.

Their lips dissociated quickly after. Kyle fell over Kenny’s shoulder, panting into his sweater like an overworked animal.

Was that fast? It felt like a second. God, that felt like just a second. 

Despite the continually buzzing warmth between his thighs, his head pounded against his skull. The sudden realization of this caused him to plummet from his high. He vaguely heard Kenny mumble something, making out a few words like _hyperventilate_, and _blackout_, and something along the lines of, _‘that was romantic, wasn’t it?”_

But Kyle’s ears rang, cancelling out most words. He could only lean against Kenny like a rag doll and let his eyes flutter shut, then open again.

He felt the other remove his previously busy hand, wait a long moment, then touch the back of his neck. His hand was only cold, like it had been cleaned.

“Gross,” Kyle heard him say, snickering, then planting a kiss on his cheek. 

Kyle remained still, exhaling deeply. The warm blood surging through his body, Kenny’s cold fingers touching his neck... It felt familiar. He groaned and lifted his heavy head. 

“You’re... gross,” He responded, his head resting against the car seat. His eyes instantly shut, and his body lost any strength it still had.

Kenny briefly touched his face, brushing the hair from out of his closed eyes. “You’re tired from just that?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Kyle weakly said, out of breath. “I’ve been driving... For...”

“--A while,” Kenny interjected, silencing Kyle with his hand as he held his face. “Maybe we should take a break.”

Kyle didn’t have the strength to debate how Kenny was so casual about the situation, especially now, or why they definitely could not take a break. He faintly protested, but found himself blindly falling back onto Kenny’s shoulder, allowing himself to be embraced, and quickly falling asleep.

  
***

  
When Kyle woke up, the car was moving. The sun was low in the sky, painting the horizon a dramatic orange-pinkish color. Kyle weakly cracked open his eyes, turning and looking out the passenger side window at the blur of trees and snow and sunset sky. He could barely see the scene from where his seat was, almost fully reclined below the window.

_I’m not... driving..._ He thought, confused. He stared back out the front window, reaching for the gearshift, before a hand guided him to the armrest.

“There he is,” Kenny winked, one hand on the wheel, the other holding Kyle’s. His seat was pushed all the way back, angled just slightly in a comfortable position. He was posed like he was in a movie scene, like a handsome young man riding down the highway in an expensive sports car, hair blowing perfectly in the wind.

Kyle blinked, unclouding his vision and shooting upright in his seat.

“You’re not supposed to be driving,” He frantically said, pulling the handle on the side of his car seat and aligning it upright. “You don’t have a license—“

“No shit,” Kenny wore a reckless smile, keeping his eyes ahead. “Like we’re gonna get pulled over anyways, right?”

“Uh, _yeah_. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m pretty sure the entire county is looking for us by now.”

“Calm down, you’re overreacting. It’s only been a few hours.”

Kyle opened his mouth, and Kenny extended his arm and pushed him back into his seat.

“I know how to drive, dumbass. We’ll be back home in, like, thirty minutes,” He explained, flashing a sentimental smile. “Can you trust me for thirty more minutes?”

Kyle maintained eye contact with Kenny, who payed more attention to the road.

He bitterly mumbled. “It’s not about trust, ‘cause you know I trust you. It’s about the cops pulling us over and us getting busted on the spot.”

“I was trying to be sweet,” Kenny flatly said. “You were supposed to say, _‘Of course, Ken.’_”

Kyle sighed, half frustrated and half endeared. “Of course, Ken.”

Kenny beamed. Kyle relented and didn’t bother protesting. It wouldn’t matter, anyways. He looked back out the window at the scenic blur.

_We’re in deep shit no matter what_, he reasoned. _In thirty minutes, we’ll have our asses formally handed to us._

He cast a glance at Kenny. The sun hit his face perfectly, illuminating all the notable imperfections on his skin. His eyes glittered. Every visible indication that he was still grieving over Karen had melted away like ice in the sunlight. _He must not be thinking about it,_ Kyle thought. _Or he’s damn good at hiding it. _Either way, he looked happy, or at least better.

  
_How did we end up here_, Kyle wondered with a smile, before another thought came to him.

  
He quickly tore himself away.

  
This was going to hurt.

  
And, _God,_ his mom was going to be pissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly, happy new year! I'm writing this on New Years eve, so here's your New Years gift. one of my resolutions for next year is to write and read more, so hopefully i'll be publishing some more fic ideas of mine in 2020! i've recently acquired a laptop for Christmas, so writing will definitely be easier!
> 
> secondly, i'm terribly sorry for the obvious delay, if anyone still cared. i began this chapter around October i believe, and its getting published, what, 2 months later? my excuse is that i definitely hit a spur of writers block during the first weeks of writing this chapter. I am a terrible procrastinator. after writing was done, I put off editing for way too long and i'm very sorry to anyone who still cares lmao whoops 
> 
> but luckily, in my hiatus, i have started antidepressants and feel much better than i did when starting this fic, and i am very thankful for that... if it weren't for my meds, who knows if i even would have finished this.
> 
> anyways, the last chapter will hopefully be published sometime next week :)
> 
> and btw sorry for my shitty porn its been a while since I've written pls forgive (╥_╥)
> 
> thanks for reading! - joey (james)


End file.
